“They were gonna amputate my hand,” Ex-NHLer Sheldon Souray reveals HARROWING experience with Oilers during Tom Renney’s reign

Sheldon Souray says he had the worst experience with the Oilers during the time Tom Renney served as the head coach.


“They were gonna amputate my hand,” Ex-NHLer Sheldon Souray reveals HARROWING experience with Oilers during Tom Renney’s reign

Sheldon Souray [Image Credit: TMZ]

Ex-NHLer Sheldon Souray recently appeared as a guest on the UnHammered Podcast, where he talked about his horrifying experience with the Edmonton Oilers. Although he now admits to liking the organization a little bit, it was a nightmare for him during Tom Renney’s tenure as the head coach.

Souray reveals how Renney instigated him to pick a fight with then-Calgary Flames forward Jarome Iginla and in turn injured himself severely. He recalls the then-head coach saying “…if you wanna get someone back now is the time”.

YouTube video

The catastrophic wrist injury changed his perspective of the organization forever. He said it was not like anything Souray had ever experienced in life. The Oilers’ decision could have cost him a severed limb, had he not been lucky to get treatment on time.

FS Video

He says, Renney’s instigation for the fight “didn’t make sense to me” as he was already doing his job to secure points on the ice. Regardless, reality hit him hard when the nurse revealed his infection was in fact “a bone and blood infection” that could reach his heart and at worse kill him.

I have a major infection, I have a blood and bone infection. 3 days in ICU…They were gonna amputate my hand. It was on the table as an option.
Sheldon Souray as per UnHammered Podcast.

Furthermore, after suffering the injury, Sheldon Souray wanted to go back to Los Angeles to treat his wrist. However, the Edmonton Oilers said “no” and told him to “have the surgery here in Edmonton.” Unfortunately, due to delay, the infection spread to his arm causing him to be in immense pain and delirious. 

Sheldon Souray reveals Oilers forced his trade after the wrist injury 

Former National Hockey League defenceman, Sheldon Souray reveals that he was told how the organization believes he was “faking this injury because you don’t want to play for the Oilers.” He admits being very upset to learn this and even confronted the staff and coach about his dismissal.

Sheldon Souray [Image Credit: Daily Hive]
Sheldon Souray [Image Credit: Daily Hive]

Souray recalls calling how “f***ed up” and “dysfunctional” the organization was. Currently, they seem to have reorganized themselves, but in the earlier days, it was very difficult to be part of it.

...I just told them all to go f*** themselves. It was f***ed up, from the top to the bottom it was so dysfunctional. It was a circus.
Sheldon Souray as per Caleb Kerney of The Hockey News.

Souray admitted he was “pissed” as he was not “seeing eye-to-eye with the management.” “I wanted to get out of Edmonton,” he said. Now, he says they have come a long way since Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl seem to like playing in Edmonton.

In case you missed: