Safety is the NHL’s # 1 Priority

While it may not seem like safety is the top concern in the NHL right now with the amount of players on the IRL and it being “The Season of Concussions”, but the NHL is constantly discussing on how to maintain safety for the players on the ice. This is one of the top items of discussion on the agenda today at the General Managers meetings, which will be taking place over the course of the next couple of days.

Since the absence of Sidney Crosby last season and the amount of bad concussions that the league has seen this current season, it is all anyone in the hockey community has been talking about. Hockey is a very physical game, so injuries are a common place thing and nearly every player in the league has faced injuries that have kept them on the bench, but this season the amount of concussions present have had a tremendously negative effect on the league as a whole. Whenever you turn on the NHL network, there seems to be another player that is seriously injured and a player that is being giving a disciplinary hearing (and sometimes a huge fine along with a hefty game suspension).

So what can the NHL do to prevent all these injuries from happening? Well that is exactly why they are planning these discussion meetings to talk about what appropriate changes to the game with help the league be rid of so many concussions. Concussions are still going to happen, since hockey is so physical, but if the league can figure out how to not have as many players out like this season, it will be for the better.

One of the most talked about proposals to changing the game is to reintroduce the Red Line. When the red line rule was changed, it was to create more offensive moves in the game, but with the increase of injuries some GMs are thinking that maybe the initial ban on two-line passes was a good idea in the first place. Of course this might only help teams like the Devils and The Lightening that thrive on sitting on the line waiting for the defensive team to make a move. Before the change of the red line this was how the Devils won championships.

Other topics that are being discussed in the next three days are possible equipment changes so they are not as hard if a player gets hit, and changes to the trapezoid. Right now, there are some ideas to modify how the trapezoid is used and if it could be a modifed icing call for a team, which would further modify the NHL rulebook. Another idea is to just get rid of the trapezoid altogether.

So far, the GMs are still in talks, and nothing has yet to be decided, but these changes need to be discussed before the NHL Board decides on making any changes.