Concussions in the NHL; What Should Be Done

A concussion is a serious injury.

Concussions have affected the NHL in several ways. Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador just missed an entire season because of a concussion. Pretty much the same story with Marc Savard of Boston. Clearly something has to be done.

The NHL has been trying to deal with this problem. They're trying to make the punishment for headshots greater in order to help eradicate such hits from the game. These types of small changes may help prevent players from getting injured but let's be real here; even if David Steckel received a major penalty for his hit on Sidney Crosby, it would not change the fact that Crosby was severely injured on the play.

I think the NHL is definitely improving though on solving the problem. Ideas mentioned at the NHL research and development camp like the addition of the curved glass in lieu of the dangerous turnbuckled may help prevent future injuries like Max Pacioretty's. I still think, however, that the NHL is completely missing the point.

One of the main problems for the NHL in regards to dealing with head injuries, is the decision by coaches to not rest those players.

We see it time and time again in when a player gets a high stick and misses maybe a shift because he's on the bench getting stitches. But most of the time he'll be right out on the ice before we know.

This type of dedication to the game is what makes hockey players uniquely tough and willing to play through anything.

Head injuries are a different story.

A concussion is a very dangerous injury mainly because the fact that is cumulative. That means the more times you get hit in the head, the worse the injury will be over time if it continues. And for a league as tough as our own, well you get the picture.

In the NHL, hits and tumbles like these happen too frequently

So you get the idea now.

But the willingness of players to play through injuries is just too great. And this is where we get the big problems.

The link earlier in this article showed the hit Sidney Crosby received from Washington forward David Steckel. Most people don't know this but Crosby actually came back and finished that game against Washington. Then Crosby was in the lineup again the next game just 4 days later. And that was when he was clobbered into the boards by Tampa Bay's Viktor Hedman. THAT was when Crosby actually got injured.

So the coaching staff of the Penguins had him play 4 days after receiving a vicious blow to the head, risking a grave injury. Well they lost the gamble and look where they are now.

Sidney Crosby had a press conference last week announcing that he was still not 100% recovered yet and won't play until he gets to that number. Officials reported he had a few setbacks in training camp and it may take months for him to return at this point because of "post concussion symptoms". People are at this point saying he might be out all season or even worse, his career.

The one upside in this story was that they are now going to wait until he is 100%. Now that they see the horrifying affects of the concussion, they know not to rush things at this point.

Hopefully he'll be back soon though. Although I'm a moderate Crosby hater, I still maintain some respect for the athlete and I don't like seeing hockey players suffer. We're rooting for you Sidney.


Another example of stupidity was the whole Nathan Horton scandal in the playoffs. Nathan Horton was plowed in the Stanley Cup Finals last year by Vancouver's Aaron Rome. Now I can go for days and days debating the legality and severity of the hit but I already did:
http://robinsnest-yoro.blogspot.com/2011/06/dirty-hit-by-aaron-rome-in-game-3.html
http://robinsnest-yoro.blogspot.com/2011/06/classless-fans-diving-players-typical.html
http://robinsnest-yoro.blogspot.com/2011/06/horton-ready-to-play-good-and-bad-for.html
As mentioned in one of my posts, Horton was in the Boston Garden for game 6 looking active as ever. I wrote that a concussion, an injury that's sensitive to light and sound, should be treated with plenty of rest, especially several days after what was classified as a "severe concussion". Well there was Horton. In perhaps the loudest possible buildings in America on that night. Looking alert and active.
During the Summer I received a message on August 24th, 79 days after Horton received the hit, that Nathan Horton said he was at long last "symptom free".
Well I'll be. A concussion THAT severe should not have been handled in that way. Traveling with the team, being in the arenas for the game. A concussed player should, idealistically, be dealt in the following manner.

Step 1: Stay in your home
Step 2: Rest

and continue both steps until symptom free.

I would not be surprised if Horton's condition grew worse over time because of his activity immediately following the head trauma. Therefore, I am shocked that the Bruins allowed him to do it.
One complement that I had for the Bruins though was their decision not to play him in game 7. For a player to sit out of game 7 is something that is truly unimaginable for spectators. Everyone dreams of the NHL game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals and Horton admitted himself that he would play if they let him. Horton probably did everything in his power to persuade the front office and his doctors to let him play. And kudos to them for putting their foot down and making the (obvious) decision to not allowing him to play.


One last note before I end this off.

Remember Marc Savard? Skillful forward for the Bruins? The guy who showed great offensive abilities. Unfortunately, the same guy who has more youtube videos of him getting injured than of him displaying those offensive abilities. The guy who was cheapshotted by Matt Cooke and missed considerable playing time. Then, when he returned to play, scored that incredibly, gut-wrenching, goosebump-inducing overtime goal in the playoffs in his first game in 2 months. Unfortunately, the guy who was re-concussed this year in a hit along the boards.

Ya well that guy.

Well I've been wondering, since the night of game 7, where he has been. His health updates weren't optimistic and I was hoping he would be enjoying watching his team win it.

Well first off, It was reported that Marc will indeed get his name on the Stanley Cup. This is something that can make anyone really emotional knowing what he went through. He's worked hard in his career and know at least has something to show for it as he truly helped inspire this year's Bruins team.

Now the bad news:

The Bruins recently revealed that Savard will miss the entirety of the 2011-2012 NHL season due to "post concussion symptoms". He played 25 games this year before receiving his 2nd severe concussion in just 10 months.
And just recently it was reported that the 34 year old forward may never play in a game again. They say it's highly unlikely that he'll return to the game and that his retirement is eminent. Savard was a true hockey player and a nice guy. Hopefully he'll help prevent further concussions if he decides to join the NHL board.

Concussions are terrible. Let's get 'em out of the game for good.

Another Hockey World Tragedy

Geez. When will it end.

I was saddened with loss of Derek Boogaard. It was quite a depressing occurrence. The fact that a current NHL player, someone who was beloved by the fans and other players, could just vanish from the world in just a blink of the eye.

I was distraught when I heard the news that Rick Rypien passed away. I felt bad that the NHL lost 2 such valuable people who were still playing in the league.

When I heard that former NHLer Wade Belak died, I was upset that such a loss had to hit the hockey community. When one hockey player passes away, it isn't only felt by a player or fan of that team. It effects everyone involved in the great game. I'm someone that never really saw too much of any of the 3 players but I understood the type of player they were and felt the pain that the fans felt. Once again; the hockey world is a place where hockey fans all over the world are bonded with this sport.

Earlier today, I received several terrifyingly bitter news. It was in the form of a tweet and this is what it said:
"BREAKING: A terrible tragedy in Russia. A charter plane carrying the KHL's Lokomotiv crashed. Only one person survived."
After reading that tweet, I wanted to hear the details. And it didn't take long for them to reach me. Here's what the AP reported: "A Russian jet carrying a top ice hockey team crashed while taking off Wednesday in western Russia, killing at least 43 people and leaving two critically injured, officials said.
The Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said the Yak-42 plane crashed immediately after leaving an airport near the city of Yaroslavl, on the Volga River about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northeast of Moscow. It was carrying 45 people, including 37 passengers and eight crew, and the ministry said all but two people were killed in the crash."

Now I'm not a KHL expert but I've heard the name Lokomotiv more than once so I knew that this was a big time team. Now many names jump out at you right away from the roster. Former NHL players that were now in Russia playing professionally there. They are Pavol Demitra, Ruslan Salei, Josef Vasicek, Karel Rachunek, Karlis Strastins, and Stefan Liv. Being a life-long NHL fan, I knew all of these players. Some more than others, but I still knew them all and was extremely sad to find out. I felt terrible that these amazing athletes had their lives cut short.

Well one player on the list of the deceased caught my eye. It was none other than New Jersey Devils prospect Alexander Vasyunov. I remembered Vasyunov from this season. He was one of those young, quick, and skillful players that brought a lot to the table. He was relentless on the attack and was an energetic player on the team. I was pretty proud of the youngster when he picked up his first career NHL goal. Well I just felt terrible when I saw he was a passenger on today's tragic flight.

The news of this terrible plane crash put me in a downright somber mood throughout the day, a mood that was quickly noticed by my peers in school. They couldn't quite understand what made me so terribly sad that a team so far away from where we were with a team I didn't necessarily care for crashed. And this connects to what I was talking about earlier. While it is true, I'm not 100% down on my KHL teams and players, this was an even that completely effected everyone in the hockey community. Whether you knew someone on the flight or not, if you're a hockey fan, you felt awful. And this is what makes our sport unique. The unity throughout the world by all our fans.

Well hopefully these string of unfortunate events end shortly. Already so many tragic happenings throughout the year has left many of us in shock. This most recent event will definitely leave a mark on the hockey community for years on end. But all we can do now is remember the players that left us and not to let their memories die.

Here are many of the reactions from players in the NHL via Twitter

Here is a video dedicated to those who perished in the tragic crash

The New Uniforms For the Winnipeg Jets

In a live press conference, they revealed what the Jets will be wearing this season. It was a little awkward/cool when they showed the back of a Jet open up and these 4 players walked down donning the new uniforms. Overall, I think they look pretty cool. I love the new logo and the colours of the jersey with the stripes on the sleeves look just fine. 

NHL Research and Development Camp 2011

A special thanks to PuckDaddy hockey blog on Yahoo! I wasn't home while it happened so I'll be using their article for the ideas that the NHL came up with. The ideas that I'm expressing, however, are my own.

The NHL R&D is a place where our sport can be cleansed of dirty hits or be made more exciting for the fans. This year's spokesmen, NHL discipline head Brendan Shanahan, came up with several great ideas that will hopefully be integrated into our league to make it a better sport. So let's get to the ideas.

A Curved Glass at the End of Benches In Lieu of the padding.

We all remember last year when Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins injured Montreal forward Max Pacioretty by driving his head into the turnbuckles at the end of the bench (the same padding that supports that part of the boards in every NHL arena.)

So the new idea is that instead of having a padding there that would absorb all of the contact and push it right back into you, they are now experimenting with curved glass who's purpose is to deflect all of the force back into the playing surface to prevent injuries such as the one to Pacioretty.

to deflect all of the force of the player back into the playing surface

I think this is a great idea and it should be instituted into the league. It will prevent many injuries but it will still be cool to see a player get hellicopter'd.

GOOD IDEA

No Touch Icing...Sometimes

Let's face it. No touch icing is for hosers. The idea is that the race for the puck in a delayed icing situation can lead to some series injuries. Which it does. But let's be real here. Nothing gives the fans more satisfaction than a scrappy player beating out an icing call. So they experimented with allowing the referee to judge who will win the race or if the turnout of the race will end up with an injured player. It might not work too well though considering that the fans and players will often be confused about the call right in the middle of an action packed play.

BAD IDEA

No Shorthanded Icing

Just a flat out bad idea. The best part of watching your team on the penalty kill is when they are able to clear the puck down the ice and able to get a good line change after a long play. The idea here is to give the team with the powerplay more opportunity to score because if the penalty kill team ices the puck, the faceoff comes right back to their zone and they can't change lines. This will keep the killers tired and give more offensive zone time for the powerplay. The problem is that the killing team will ice the puck anyway for the 10 seconds of resting they can get and every time they ice the puck there'll be a whistle, thus slowing down the game entirely.

BAD IDEA

Defining Possession

When there's a delayed penalty, the penalized team has to gain possession the puck in order for play to stop. Or as written in the NHL rule book: "When the team to be penalized gains control of the puck, the Referee will blow his whistle to stop play and impose the penalty on the offending player or goalkeeper." But a problem that's been seen in the NHL is the inconsistency of the referee's opinion of what "gains control" means. Sometimes it will mean some stick handling or sometimes it will mean if it touches the player. Either way, they experimented with the idea that the penalized team has to skate the puck out of the zone or at least clear the puck in order for the play to stop. I think this is a horrible idea. I think the rule was already good enough. Most of the time, the refs would hold that all the player has to do is stick handle a little bit to prove he has possession of the puck. It'd be a bit too complicated and difficult to clear the puck.

BAD IDEA

Double Goal Line

An idea that I liked a lot was the goal verification line. This extra line would help during controversial video replays to determine if the puck crossed the goal line or not. Let's say that a player is blocking the view of the primary goal line and you can't tell if it's completely crossed or not. Well this second line will help. If the puck is touching the second line, it means that it has 100% cleared the regular goal line. So this is an idea that should definitely be implemented into the league.

GOOD IDEA

Clear Plank On Top of Net

A solid idea. Not completely necessary but may help the birds eye view in video replay.

It's not too hard to see through the netting anyway but the transparent view may help once in a while and it doesn't necessarily hurt either.

GOOD IDEA

New Offside Faceoff

The idea here is that after an offside, the faceoff should go all the way back to their own zone. A pretty brutal call if you ask me. Not all offsides are on purpose or avoidable. Maybe if it's a blatantly on purpose offsides they can make it a little worse on the offending team but other than that it'd be too much.

BAD IDEA

Set Faceoff

A lot of times, you'll see players taking false starts on faceoffs. A way to cancel these out, the referee would place the puck in the faceoff dot, blow the whistle, and only when both centremen are set, the referee picks up the puck and drops it. I thought it sounded like a pretty good idea but PuckDaddy said that the centremen were complaining that it was a different type of drop and they weren't used to it. I think it would've worked but if it bothered the players THAT much then it's not worth it.

GOOD-ISH IDEA

Faceoff Penalty Line

As explained here: "If a player is deemed to have committed a face-off violation, he will be required to move back and keep his skates behind a "penalty line" (1' foot further back) which will cause a loss of leverage and therefore loss of strength for the ensuing face-off." Not a terrible idea but I don't think it'd work. It's pretty much an automatic penalty loss and just for an accidental false start. It sounds a little promising but it'd be too weird to watch during a game.

BAD IDEA

Remove the Trapezoid

Yes yes yes yes yes. A silly rule implemented after the lockout to try to create more forechecking by preventing the goaltender to play the puck all the time (mainly targeted at Martin Brodeur because of his talented puck playing. Known by the Devils as the "third defenseman".) It's a foolish rule and it creates injuries. I wrote a very good piece on trapezoids a few months ago and I truly invite you to read through it. It's about goalies playing the puck and I truly recommend that you read it. So ya. Get rid of the damn shape.

GREAT IDEA

Shallow Nets

A harmless idea with tremendous upside. 

It adds a lot of room behind the net and could create more offensive chances.

GOOD IDEA

Alternative to Boarding a Player

If a player has the puck along the boards with his back towards the play, he is in a vulnerable position to be hit hard into the boards. But the player trying to get the puck has no other option. So this idea was to be able to grab the player and literally throw him or push him away from the puck. It's a cute idea but there'd be too much controversy because it's pretty much a holding penalty anyway.

BAD IDEA

Long Change In Overtime

A pretty good idea. The teams benches would be further away from the defensive zone thus creating more odd man rushes from bad changes and it could give us more exciting overtime sudden death finishes. 

GOOD IDEA

Five Player Shootout

Not a bad idea shootout wise. I hate the shootout but for people who like the shootout it's a good idea. More skill is required per team. 

GOOD IDEA

Another Overtime

If the 4 on 4 overtime ended tied, it would go to a 3 minute 3 on 3 overtime period. It's extremely cool watching it especially with the talent in the NHL. A video (courtesy of PuckDaddy...again) shows how cool it can be. For someone who hates the shootout, I think it's a great idea.

GOOD IDEA

So that's it for me. Leave a comment saying which idea you love or hate or if you have any ideas of your own.