Quote:
Originally Posted by SuperMatt18
It's a fine line though because honestly you can never get rid of concussions completely.
I got a concussion playing non-contact, co-ed, flag football. It can happen in any scenario and IMO the answer can't just be "we need to remove body contact".
My personal feeling is that the league should take precautions to make the game as safe as possible without altering the core fabric of the game but that the players need to take more responsibility too.
Physical contact is a part of hockey. I agree that the league probably needs to look one step past just direct headshots, and look at things like hits after the puck is gone more seriously, but really it's happening quick and is a fine line between taking those hits more seriously and the complete removal of hitting. (Another thing they should probably look at is potentially making the penalties for fighting more severe).
But at some point it comes down to the players and acceptance of the risk. They need to understand the risk, be educated on the potential long term impacts, and then it's up to them to determine if that risk is worth the financial benefit from playing the sport.
At some point the league can only be so accountable and it's up to the individual player/person to assess the risk and determine if it's worth it to them. And the player needs to be accountable for that, and the NHLPA, junior/minor/college hockey programs need to be the ones ensuring that those players have the right information to make that decision.
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To me - the concept of "finishing the check" is one element that should be removed.
Sam knew what he was doing. He knew the puck was going to be gone when he got there. It wasn't anything to do with the puck. It was about payback.
Which again - not blaming him. But that's the cultural shift that needs to happen.