The NHL’s concussion protocol has been an unfinished product since the day they announced its existence at the 2011 general managers meetings in Boca Raton.
I recall speaking with then-Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero, who only moments after the whole Quiet Room concept had been rammed through, had a myriad of questions regarding its application.
“What’s going to happen when our doctor says that Alex Ovechkin can’t go back in (to a game)? Or (then-Flyer) Mike Richards? Or their doctor on Sidney Crosby?” Shero asked.
This season the NHL unveiled what they called independent concussion spotters in the 30 NHL rinks. Still however, these spotters are there only to log incidents. They only maintain radio contact with the team doctors if the teams request it, and most teams prefer to use their own resources.
Sportsnet’s Eric Francis confirmed that one of those spotters was active in Calgary on the night of the Wideman incident with linesman Don Henderson.
Despite the spotters, we still see players woozily make their way to the bench before resuming a regular shift. Aaron Ekblad finished a game in Edmonton after clearly struggling to right himself after a Matt Hendricks hit from behind that garnered a suspension. He played the game out, then missed the Panthers next three games due to a concussion.
In Calgary, no one on the Flames bench had a clear view of Dennis Wideman being hit in the corner, and after running over Henderson on the way to the bench, Wideman played the rest of the game. Days later he claimed he was concussed in his disciplinary hearing, a claim that left even the NHL dubious.
Asked about concussion protocol on the Toronto Maple Leafs bench, head coach Mike Babcock said this week: “Well, I think when a player says he’s okay to play and keeps playing, he’s okay to play.”
The problem is, players are raised to say, “Put me out there, coach. I’m fine.” And the coaches are under so much pressure to win, it is fair to question how long a team doctor who continually erred on the side of caution — removing key players from games night after night — would hang on to his role with an NHL club.
To my eyes, this is less a league issue than a team and player issue. Remember, the NHL can’t even dictate where and when its member teams practice during the Stanley Cup Final. It’s not the totalitarian society people think it is. The member teams have (in my humble opinion) far too much leeway on a number of fronts, to set their own rules.
Teams like Calgary have to let concussion spotters and doctors make the final call. Until that happens, players will try to play through concussions, and coaches will approve.
And, we might add, a defence like Wideman’s will go unheeded. Sorry – you can’t only get serious about concussions when you’re trying to dodge a suspension.
From the NHL’s Concussion Evaluation and Management Protocol document.
Concussion Signs (Observable)
• Any loss of consciousness;
• Slow to get up following a hit to the head (“hit to the head” may include
secondary contact with the glass, boards or ice);
• Motor incoordination/balance problems (stumbles, “rubber legs”, trips/falls,
slow/labored skating);
• Blank or vacant look;
• Disorientation (e.g., unsure of where he is on the ice or location of bench);
• Clutching of head after a hit;
• Visible facial injury in combination with any of the above.
Concussion Symptoms (Player reported)
• Headache;
• Dizziness;
• Balance or coordination difficulties;
• Nausea;
• Amnesia for the circumstances surrounding the injury (i.e.,
retrograde/anterograde amnesia);
• Cognitive slowness;
• Light/sound sensitivity;
• Disorientation;
• Visual disturbance;
• Tinnitus.
Give and Go:
Beyond their annual on-ice production, there are two things you can take to the bank when it comes to Daniel and Henrik Sedin: They’re going to donate money in the community, and they’re going to do everything they can to keep those acts anonymous.
In 2010 the brothers were persuaded to publicize their $1.5 million gift to the B.C. Children’s Hospital, against their original intent.
“The huge gift is not just the dollar amount, but that we’re getting tremendous exposure for the campaign,” a Hospital Foundation spokesman said in 2010. “We asked if we could put out a release.”
So when word slipped out on Thursday that Daniel had distributed his $91,000 take from the winning Pacific Division team at the All-Star Game to the Canucks training staff — first reported by the Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle — it didn’t surprise many folks.
Sportsnet confirmed the donation, with no help from Daniel. Typically, he’s not saying anything about it, and has sworn the trainers to secrecy.
Elias Says…
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Edmonton’s 7-2 win at Ottawa Thursday was the first NHL game this season in which a team had as many as 15 players earn points. It was the first 15-man contribution for the Oilers since Nov. 26, 1996, when 16 players hit the score sheet in a 10-1 blasting of the Flames in Calgary.
Edmonton has scored 12 goals in the two games since McDavid’s return. He has points on five of those.
Ebs or RNH?
Something to think about in Edmonton: General manager Peter Chiarelli is making every attempt to move defenceman Justin Schultz by the Feb. 29 deadline. He’s holding out for whatever he can get, but with no intention of qualifying Schultz at north of $4 million this summer, we’re betting Chiarelli would settle for a fourth-round draft pick (or lower) near the deadline.
As for a potential deal for Jordan Eberle or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, that’s something that I believe will happen prior to the draft in June. Nugent-Hopkins is out another month with a broken hand, but what of Eberle?
Now that he is installed on Connor McDavid’s right wing, does Eberle’s recent surge in production (3-2-5 in two games) change his availability status? On one hand you could say that his market value is being raised by playing with McDavid.
On the other hand you might say, “Why trade away a clearly effective triggerman who works this well with McDavid, and is signed for the next three seasons? Trade RNH instead.”
Stay tuned.
No Panic on Yannick
One more note on the Canucks: It seems highly unlikely that defenceman Yannick Weber will clear waivers at noon ET Saturday. Not at a time of year where contenders are looking to stick up on defensive depth by the Feb. 29 Trade Deadline.
Weber had 11 goals last season, though he’s struggled this season with 0-5-5 in 35 games, and frankly plays the game much the way Rafael Diaz did before fading out of the NHL this season. Still, wouldn’t a non-contending club grab Weber off waivers, then flip the pending UFA for a draft pick at the deadline?
Jets Vets
We’ve been around enough free agent situations to realize that what gets said publicly and what gets said behind closed doors, aren’t always the same thing.
That’s fair: You can’t expect a player to stand in front of the media and say, “My wife hates it here.” Or, “I’ve played a long time to earn UFA status. I want to live somewhere else.”
The rest of the season would be hell for the player, playing in front of jilted fans in a town they’d dumped.
Let’s go to Winnipeg, where two excellent players in Andrew Ladd and Dustin Byfuglien have both publicly stated their willingness to remain in Winnipeg long-term. Yet the reality is, July 1 looms and neither has signed with the Jets.
Now, it could be the Jets’ fault. Maybe management is low-balling, or perhaps (and I find this hard to believe) the team wants to move on from both players. As is stands, the Jets and Byfuglien’s agent Ben Hankinson are in negotiations, while Ladd’s agent J.P. Barry says their negotiations have cooled off.
I believe Jets fans will understand if the team makes a choice between the two. Those are big, long-term deals, and cap management is important. But if the Jets don’t sign either player, it will mean one of two things to me.
Either management doesn’t want to spend the money it takes to put a winner on the ice, or the players have gone through the negotiation process for optics, with their true wish to move on from Winnipeg. The latter would be hurtful for a fantastic hockey town, and damaging in a dressing room where the ripple effect would mean further defection down the road.
