[News] UPD: NHL reviewing whether Flames followed concussion protocol for Wideman

[sureLoss]

Rick Westhead @rwesthead
The NHL's heralded concussion protocol in the Dennis Wideman case wasn't followed. The concussion spotter called down to Calgary bench. 1/2

Rick Westhead @rwesthead
Source: According to NHL protocol, Wideman should then have been taken to quiet, distraction-free place & examined by doctor. He wasn’t. 2/2

Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC
Believe Wideman also took CAL trainers off the hook in hearing, saying he wanted to stay in the game and did not tell anyone he was "woozy."

The NHLPA is claiming medical evidence proves that Wideman didn't have intent to intentionally hit Henderson


update (discussion starts at post 79):

NHL reviewing whether Flames followed concusion protocol

http://www.tsn.ca/talent/nhl-reviewi...eman-1.433252?

The NHL is reviewing whether or not the Calgary Flames properly followed the league’s concussion protocol with defenceman Dennis Wideman during the Jan. 27 game in which he cross-checked linesman Don Henderson.

The NHL regularly reviews every instance when a concussion is diagnosed, much in the same way any questionable hit or incident is reviewed by the league’s Department of Player Safety.

Teams have previously been fined by the NHL for not following the protocol, though that information is not made public.

[MrMastodonFarm]

No duh.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Wow this is going to get messy.

[lazypucker]

Can a player refuse treatment? Or is it the call for the NHL doctors in the case of suspected concussion symptoms?

If it is the former, then Wideman does deserve the long suspension, as he knowingly chose to ignore the rules. If it is the latter, then Wideman may have a leg to stand on with his appeal case.

[CliffFletcher]

This is not going to cast the Flames in a good light.

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Can a player refuse treatment? Or is it the call for the NHL doctors in the case of suspected concussion symptoms?

If it is the former, then Wideman does deserve the long suspension, as he knowingly chose to ignore the rules. If it is the latter, then Wideman may have a leg to stand on with his appeal case.

I think that with the nature of a concussion, a player isn't able to make the decision.

[dino7c]

What about the official? he was dropping the puck two minutes after the incident and officiated the whole game. Then supposedly spent the night in hospital

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

This is not going to cast the Flames in a good light.

Agreed, but at what point is the onus on the player? Should every player go through concussion protocol after every hit?

[Vulcan]

Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix

Agreed, but at what point is the onus on the player? Should every player go through concussion protocol after every hit?

They have concussion spotters who make the call.

[Fire of the Phoenix]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

They have concussion spotters who make the call.

Ah, I missed the first part of the post. If that's true and Calgary's coaches ignored the spotter... is that really the issue at hand? The incident happened while Wideman was still on the ice, what was Hartley supposes to do? If the spotter was ignored, that's a separate issue to me. The hit on Henderson is the first part, Wideman going back out there after is the second.

If Wideman was truly concussed, he should be absolved from any suspension. If he was sent back out by Hartley, then Hartley is the guy who should be suspended IMO. But they are two different things.

[sureLoss]

https://www.nhl.com/news/nhl-nhlpa-b...ocess/c-779135

The spotter, who is expected to sit in the press box, has a two-way radio in order to communicate what he or she has seen with the training staff on the bench to properly notify a team of a player demonstrating possible signs of a concussion.

Daly said the responsibilities of diagnosing concussions or medically determining if a player can return to play belong to the medical professionals employed by the team in question.

"Depending on the nature of what is reported to him, the trainer has the next call on whether the player needs to be removed for evaluation," Daly said.

The process of logging visible signs of concussions and relaying that information back to the NHL has been put into place for this season to help the League understand what is being observed in a game and what is being flagged, Daly said.

"From that information, determinations can be made as to how the spotter program is functioning and whether it is doing what we designed it to do," Daly said.

[Badgers Nose]

Every possible scenario = Flames lose

[Hockeyguy15]

Does anyone remember if Ekblad went through concussion protocol when Hendricks hit him?

[sureLoss]

Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC
Believe in Wideman case, spotter identified him to be checked. As many athletes do, he declined. We'll see where this branch of story goes.

Elliotte Friedman @FriedgeHNIC
But I think Wideman wanted to accept responsibility for that, and not have the trainers blamed.

[automaton 3]

Wideman looked pretty out of it on the bench. Not sure why the athletes should have any say whether or not they get checked out. How many players would volunteer to be taken out of the game? I'm guessing not many.

The mechanism should be mandatory for their own protection.

[sureLoss]

Rick Westhead @rwesthead
After the game, Wideman was diagnosed with a concussion by the Flames team doctor: source

[sureLoss]

Rick Westhead @rwesthead
After the game, Wideman was diagnosed with a concussion by the Flames team doctor: source

[Dr. Doom]

rules will be changed because of this

[Jacks]

If he had a concussion, they were warned and they still ignored it then the Flames organization deserves to get dragged though the mud over this. Hard to believe this wouldn't have had a bearing on the suspension hearing though so who knows what is true at this point. He looked out of it on the bench though.

[dammage79]

One big can or worms: Opened.

The PA is going to have a field day with this.