Bill Daly, deputy commissioner for the NHL.

BY MARK SPECTOR
sportsnet.ca

PEBBLE BEACH -- Deputy commissioner Bill Daly has left the National Hockey League’s Board of Governors meeting due to a family medical emergency, causing commissioner Gary Bettman to juggle the schedule.

In a three-hour meeting that began at 3:30 p.m. PT, Bettman began by briefing the governors on the state of the NHL’s economy. That was to be followed by a presentation by Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell entitled State of the Game, which will focus on concussion related issues.

Governors will be kept abreast of the league’s data regarding concussions, and what protocol could be put in place to limit them. Governors will weigh the danger of limiting hitting in a sport that has cultivated a culture of violent contact, against the fact that players are dropping at an ever increasing rate to concussions as players get bigger and faster every season.

In other news, the six teams that will be in Europe to open the season next year are Phoenix, San Jose, Boston, Minnesota, Carolina and Columbus. It is expected that the NHL will return to Helsinki, Finland and Stockholm, Sweden. A third city, perhaps in Germany, will be decided upon at a later date.