Number of head injuries rising in NHL games

Number of head injuries rising in NHL games

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman confirmed on Saturday that the league has recorded a spike in the number of head injuries suffered by players this season.

Bettman spoke in a news conference during the NHL's All-Star weekend where star Sidney Crosby is unable to participate because of a concussion he suffered recently.

The Commissioner said more players have suffered head injuries from fighting. Bettman added that the new cases have come from "accidental and inadvertent" contact rather than blindside hits to the heads of players. He attributed this to Rule 48 which was enforced beginning this season to disallow such hits.

"We've seen concussions this season when players have stumbled into the boards, or when there is no contact at all," the Commissioner said. "Pucks to the head, collisions with teammates, or players who were hit legally but hurt when their head struck the ice, the boards or the glass -- the biggest increase is from these types of accidental or inadvertent contract," Bettman added.

He did not disclose the number of head injuries but team owners were notified of the current total so far this season during a meeting earlier Saturday.

It is known that there are 75 concussions suffered by players per season in recent seasons of the NHL. The rate for this season seems to be higher according to Dr. Ruben Echemendia who heads a league working group which is monitoring concussions.

Bettman said the league and general managers will talk about expanding Rule 48 to disallow all types of head contact to further minimize head injuries.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Sunday January 30 2011, 3:43 AM EST. Ref: NY Times. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0