This morning I decided to check my e-mail after a couple of days, and to my surprise, I had an e-mail from Jennifer Cingari at ESPN.  The e-mail contained the press release for their latest 30 for 30 Short Film, “Cutthroat.”  The appropriately titled film is about former Buffalo Sabres goaltender Clint Malarchuk, who had his throat cut by a skate during a March 22, 1989 game against the St. Louis Blues.  This is an image ingrained in the hockey culture of my hometown of Buffalo, an image intensified as Richard Zednik, then of the Florida Panthers, suffered a similar injury at the HSBC Arena (now First Niagara Center), just across the street from where Malarchuk’s injury occurred.  This is a very powerful film, as the ESPN 30 for 30 series tends to be, and it really is a must watch, regardless of what team you root for.

The next installment of ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 Shorts series, Cutthroat, debuts today on Grantland.com. The short film focuses on former Buffalo Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk and his emotional and physical recovery from one of the most gruesome injuries in sports history.

Clint Malarchuk was known as the “Cowboy Goalie.” He grew up riding horses but suffered from severe childhood OCD, which he believes helped him focus on his hockey training. During a game against the St. Louis Blues, an opposing player’s skate blade severed Malarchuk’s carotid artery, causing one of the most shocking scenes to ever take place in a hockey rink. From award-winning director Steven Cantor, Cutthroat chronicles Malarchuk’s injury, his remarkable two-week physical recovery and his grueling emotional and mental journey, which spans twenty years and included a six-month stay in a mental hospital for long overdue PTSD treatment.

ESPN Films’ 30 for 30 Shorts series is artfully crafted by Blue Moon. Previous films from the series include Arnold’s Blueprint, Ali: The Mission, and The Irrelevant Giant, among others. All can be viewed on Grantland.com.