[2] Ashbee missed considerable time due to injuries, including the entire 1966–67 season following surgery to fix a crushed disk in his back, and when the NHL expanded in 1967, he was left unprotected for the expansion draft, and subsequently rejoined the minor league Hershey Bears.
On April 28, 1974, during overtime of Game 4 of a Stanley Cup semifinal series, a slap shot by Dale Rolfe of the New York Rangers struck Ashbee in the right eye.
[4] According to Ashbee's obituary in The New York Times, the vision in his injured eye was permanently reduced to 15 percent.
[5] With such limited vision Ashbee was unable to continue playing, so he announced his retirement on June 4, 1974.
[6][7] Ashbee became an assistant coach with the team the next season, though he initially declined the job because he thought it was offered to him out of sympathy.