The Fifth Estate

Hockey fight: Wives reveal the cost of concussions (45x14)

: 24, 2019

Behind the facade of glamour and wealth, the wives of some retired hockey enforcers are in their own fierce fight. They want the NHL to acknowledge that there's a link between fights and head injuries on the ice and long-term effects like degenerative brain disease. And they want more support for the players and their families living through those effects. Women like Jennifer Belak and Kelli Ewen — whose husbands Wade Belak and Todd Ewen took their own lives — are part of that fight. So is Ela Carcillo. She is married to recently retired player Daniel Carcillo, who says he wonders if he will become one of the sad statistics. The Fifth Estate reveals the real lives of enforcers' wives — and takes Canadians on the journey of three women demanding change in the NHL.