CONCUSSIONS on the menu with a side of caution
Postmedia panel of governors debate the new rules for head hits
When the game’s brightest young star questions the decision making of the league’s recently implemented concussion spotters, the issue understandably goes viral on the public stage.
Indeed, when Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid rubbed his jaw after absorbing a hit against the Minnesota Wild Sunday and was removed from the game to be checked out under the orders of one of the aforementioned spotters, he took issue with it.
“It kind of sucks because that’s the rule,” McDavid said afterward, claiming there had been nothing wrong with him.
“I hit my mouth, grabbed it and they took that as something that it wasn’t.”
In the minds of various NHL governors, there was no debating the ruling of the spotters. In surveying a handful at the NHL’s annual December board of governors meetings, the most frequent response we heard was: “It’s better to err on the side of caution.”
At the same time, there are questions governors are wrestling with.
With the NHL’s new concussion protocol such a hot-button topic, Postmedia approached four governors for some insight.
In Part 2 of our look at some of the pressing issues facing the league in the NHL’s 100th season, here is Postmedia’s roundtable on concussion protocol:
MIKE ZEISBERGER: Doug, you are part of a group that researches how the protocol can improve. What is your take on the situation in lieu of the McDavid incident?
ARMSTRONG: It’s a committee that works on this and reports to the other managers. Look, it’s a work in progress. You want to always err on the side of caution. It’s never a concern unless it’s your player that’s being removed and is saying there’s nothing wrong with him. I think removing a player in a game in November or December, well, I think everyone can accept that. But when you get into the playoffs, well, I think we need to find a balance that’s equitable for everyone always with player safety in mind at the forefront because you don’t want to be removing players unnecessarily. If that happens in games 5, 6 or 7 in the playoffs, you want to make sure you are doing the proper things for the players, which is always 100 per cent in the forefront. But you also want to make sure you’re not overreacting.
ZEISBERGER: Kevin, as a member of the Oilers organization, what is your opinion on the league’s new concussion protocol?
LOWE: Player safety is front and centre. In terms of Connor’s case, those spotters will continue to have experience at seeing situations like that and be able to use them in the future. It’s a split-second decision. Sure, it’s easy to say what if this happens or what if that happens? But you know, there are a lot of whatifs in life.
ZEISBERGER: The phrase we hear a lot about this is it’s a work in progress.
NILL: I think the league’s done a great job. There are things that happen on the ice where players will insist they don’t have a concussion. But they don’t really know. We’ve done our homework on it. We’re getting it refined better. And in the end, the safety of a player is far more important in the long run and the big picture than just a specific game at that time.
DAVIDSON: Going to board meetings as many years as I have, I know that the league takes this issue very, very, very seriously — every aspect of it. And I understand it. You have to do everything possible, whether teams like it or not, whether coaches and GMs like it or not, whether players like it or not. You have to set guidelines and follow them and be strict about it. We all get frustrated. We don’t want to see (Sergei) Bobrovsky take a shot and have to miss 10 minutes of playing time and he’s telling everyone he’s fine. But the rules are the rules. The trainers know they have to be dead on or they’ll be in trouble. The doctors know. I know I’m in the league and work for the league in a way, but if I get frustrated, shame on me.
ZEISBERGER: Where can improvements be made?
DAVIDSON: The one aspect I do disagree with the general managers on is that if a goaltender gets his helmet knocked off and he’s got to go inside the room, the guy coming off the bench is dead cold. Give him a chance. Give him two minutes of pucks. Give him one minute of pucks. Give him something. That would be very helpful to me. That’s nothing more than just common sense to me. If we’re are going to deal with these things the way that we are, then I think these things should be dealt with properly in every aspect.
ARMSTRONG: Our committee features a wide variety of people — from the league, from the union, doctors that represent both. It’s a large committee, upwards of 12 or 13 people. They have a wide variety of opinions — from a player’s standpoint, from a team standpoint, from a union standpoint, from a league standpoint. Everyone in this group understands that player safety is paramount. And it’s all about finding the proper balance.