Brad Richards of the New York Rangers walked away from his recent crash into the boards, a foul for which the Buffalo Sabres’ Patrick Kaleta received a five-game suspension from the NHL.

Swiss hockey player Ronny Keller was not so lucky. Keller, according to doctors, has suffered permanent paralysis from the chest down after being pushed head-first into the boards by Stefan Schnyder.

“It’s an intense sport,” said Keller’s coach, Scott Beattie. “People are always going to get hurt, don’t get me wrong. It’s a physical sport. But with the ones that can be prevented, it just has to stop.”

In view of Keller’s injury, you wonder if the NHL’s discipline of Kaleta was enough to discourage the kind of foul that can do massive damage.