NHLs Attempts at Curbing Concussions

Hockey is a very physical sport and hitting or checking is a huge part of the game and its culture. According to an NHL.com article there was around 50,000 registered hits in the 2009-2010 NFL season. Also it is estimated that “something like 50 percent of our concussions came from hits that were delivered from the side” which played a major factor in the rule change that was made after the 2009-2010 season.

Source:http://proreviewproduct.tk/nhl-hockey-hits-through-the-glass

The new rule change is designed to prevent these “Illegal checks to the head, defined as "a lateral or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted.” These type of hits “to will now be subject to a five-minute major penalty and automatic game misconduct, as well as possible supplemental discipline if deemed appropriate by the League.” As Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations, in the article New Rule on Head Hits Designed to Curb Concussions, "We wanted to preserve hitting.” Although this rule is a step in the right direction for the NHL to protect their players according to the article “NHL concussion rate not helped by rule changes, according to study” the rule change did not help curb the amount of concussions in the NHL. The type of hits depicted in Rule 48 have been shown to not be the main cause of the concussions in the NHL. the article states that “About 28 per cent of interactions produced a concussion also generated a penalty call, said Cusimano. In that 28 per cent, the bulk of the penalties were for fighting. "And blindsiding, which was what the rule was initially was written about, was only 4.1 per cent of all those.... But four per cent of 28 per cent is a very small number." This quote shows that there are other major causes of concussions, such as fighting and blindsiding. The NHL still has many things to do to limit the amount of concussions while still keeping the game the way it’s suppose to be played.