Gary Bettman's 5 Step Plan For Curbing NHL's Concussion Problem

When the NHL General Managers' meetings took place on Tuesday, the topics right at the forefront of their discussions were expected to be hits to the head and concussions. In many cases, the two go hand in hand and they have been very prominent concerns over the last few years considering the consistency and frequency of NHL talent being put on the shelf with career- and life-threatening injuries.

The Commissioner of the National Hockey League, Gary Bettman, addressed this issue a day before those GM meetings in Boca Raton, Florida by outlining a five-step process that will be implement to try and curb the problem dangerous hits and resulting concussions have become throughout the league.

Bettman did caution that there is no quick, single fix considering there are various causes and results for concussions throughout the league. And that was made evident by the NHL reviewing each incident resulting in a concussion this year. But Bettman put into place a few procedures that can help slow down the problem.

1. NHL Vice President of Hockey and Business Development Brendan Shanahan will work with the NHL Players' Association in an effort to reform equipment mandates that will better protect players during gameplay.

2. The current concussion protocol will be revised within a week's time, according to Bettman. This week timeframe is so that the league can conduct conference calls with physicians in order to ensure they understand procedures.

The new procedures will call for the immediate removal of a player suspected of having a concussion from the game and bench area. He will be placed in a quiet area where a medical doctor will examine him. A SCAT Test will then be performed before a player is allowed to return to the game.

3. In the case of repeat offenders when it comes to hits to the head, penalties will be assigned to teams and head coaches in addition to the actual player. Possibly influenced by a letter from Pittsburgh Penguins co-owner Mario Lemieux, Bettman enacts this rule as a way to place some level of responsibility when it comes to discipline on the shoulders of the team employing players constantly making questionable plays on the ice.

4. A safety evaluation will be conducted by engineers in all 30 hockey arenas. Obviously brought upon as a result of the Zdeno Chara hit on Montreal's Max Pacioretty, areans may need to revise their rinks to conform to newer standards.

5. A panel consisting of retired defenseman Rob Blake, Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman, Dallas Stars general manager Joe Nieuwendyk and Shanahan will be established in order to monitor the issue of concussions.

Pacioretty Stretchered Off Ice After Being Sent Into Boards By Chara



It's almost commonplace in the NHL today to see some pretty scary things go down. The physical play throughout the league has come under constant scrutiny, especially with abundance of industries - especially those of the concussion variety. The Tuesday evening showdown between the Northeast Division rival Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins is sure to put another black mark on the game and lead to endless debate over who is at fault, if anyone is at all.

With approximately 20 seconds remaining in the second period, Max Pacioretty and Zdeno Chara partook in a race for the puck near the blue line by Montreal's zone. Pacioretty chipped the puck down the ice and skated close the boards, where Chara met up with him and rode him into the glass extension separating the two benches. Pacioretty immediately fell to the ice, squirming at first before remaining completely motionless.

As Pacioretty was stretchered off the ice by practically all available medical personnel, the officials elected to call a close to the second period with 15.8 seconds remaining. A smart move considering the obvious all-around concern for the fallen Hab. For the incident, Chara was given a five-minute interference major, a game misconduct and a very big bullseye on his back for the next time these two teams square off on March 24.

Pacioretty was taken to a nearby hospital and it has since been reported by the Canadiens that he was moving his hands and feet, regained consciousness and was talking. That's pretty much as good as anybody could ask for right now considering the how devastating it looked when his head went crashing into the glass.

While the primary concern is Pacioretty's health, there is sure to be plenty of focus over what happens to Chara now. Was this a purposeful play on the defenseman's part, or was it simply an accident resulting from Pacioretty's own momentum and location?

It's going to be very difficult to pin this down as an intended hit by Chara, who I don't believe is the kind of player seeking to injury others. He's a big man who plays a physical game, but he's not known for succumbing to dirty plays. He's always better player and person than that.

But there is history between these two players from when Pacioretty scored an overtime game-winner in Montreal back in early January. And revenge is always a motive to make even smart people do dumb things.

Plus, there are certain aspects of the play that make me question just how accidental it was.

Chara looks up as he's riding Pacioretty across the boards and should have full awareness of where he is on the ice and the nearby surroundings. It should be clear to him that the glass extension is right there. Plus, this wasn't a simple check into the boards, whereby Chara runs his body into Pacioretty. Instead, he pushes Pacioretty with his hands in a matter that appears to be aiming for that extension.

Of course, this is all speculation on my end (noted by the shoulds in italics), which is what all analysts are doing at the moment. But certain intracies of that play don't smell right to me and are hard to overlook in favor of granting Chara absolute innocence. And by simply saying it was all just a matter of time and place, there's almost an element of blame being put on Pacioretty for nothing being in a different spot on the ice to accept the hit.

My gut tells me the NHL will review the play, but won't ultimately hand down a suspension. Chara was remorseful and called the incident "unfortunate" several times, according to Connor McKenna of Team 990 in Montreal. And, again, he doesn't have the reputation for being the kind of player to pull of dirty hits.

But there will still be a lot of debate as to whether Chara should receive some sort of extra punishment or if what went down Tuesday night was just a by-product of being in the moment.