 In recovery from his hospital bed , Howe said , " Ted is too good a player to deliberately injure another player . " Then , years later , while still believing that he had been hit by Kennedy 's stick , Howe reiterated that there was no intent to injure on Kennedy 's part and considered his injuries self @-@ inflicted . However , the incident still continues at times to be described as a deliberate act by Kennedy . In 2001 , the The Sporting News ran an article on the 30 toughest players in the NHL . In referring to Howe 's injury , the incident was described " he was knocked heavily into the boards by Toronto 's Teeder Kennedy " . 
