Marc Savard leaves on a stretcher after a questionable check by Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke.

THE CANADIAN PRESS

TORONTO -- A new rule on blindsided hits to the head still has a number of hurdles to overcome if it's going to start being called before the end of the regular season.

The league's 30 general managers proposed a rule on hits to the head after meeting for three days last week in Boca Raton, Fla.

It was intended to be instituted for next season, but the league has been put under pressure from media, fans and some of its own players to act sooner. However, league disciplinarian Colin Campbell indicated Wednesday that he'll likely have to focus on suspensions for the time being rather than making a new entry to the rulebook.

"I don't anticipate doing anything with a penalty call on the ice right now," Campbell said on XM Radio's "NHL Live" show. "I think that would be a difficult thing to consistently administer at this point in time."

A new penalty would need to receive approval from the competition committee and board of governors before coming into effect.

As of Wednesday night, a spokesman for the NHL Players' Association said the union hadn't received all of the necessary materials pertaining to the proposed rule change. The union expects to receive a DVD with examples of the head shot penalty along with a memo explaining the rule change by the end of the week.

"Once we have all of the relevant material, we'll review it fully and get back to the league," said NHLPA spokesman Jonathan Weatherdon.

The DVD and memo would need to be reviewed by the five player representatives on the 10-man competition committee -- Brian Campbell, Jason Spezza, Ryan Miller, Mathieu Schneider and Jeff Halpern -- before the rule could be approved. The other half of the competition committee is comprised of four general managers and Philadelphia Flyers owner Ed Snider.

Even if the rule was to be passed through the competition committee, it would need to receive 100 per cent approval from the NHL's board of governors because it's a change being proposed during the season.