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Ashleigh G. Smith

Professor Malcolm Campbell

UWRT 1104 – TR 1:00PM

April 4, 2019

How the National Hockey League is Skating Around Concussions

The National Hockey League (NHL) has been a professional sports organization for over

100 years. And fighting has been a part of the game in all 102 years of the league’s existence.

Fighting goes hand-in-hand with injuries, especially head injuries. In fact, the league used to

require players to remove their helmets before engaging in a fight in order to protect their hands,

instead of their heads. Just last week, Carolina Hurricanes’ forward Andrei Svechnikov was

placed on concussion protocol after engaging in a fight with Washington Captials’ captain

Alexander Ovechkin in game three of the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Svechnikov, a

19-year-old rookie drafted by the Hurricanes’ as the second overall pick in the 2018 draft, was

knocked out by his fellow Russian and role model, Ovechkin, in only two punches. Svechnikov

was taken to and promptly released from a local hospital following the fight. Many people,

including Hurricanes’ head coach Rob Brind’Amour were upset with the fight. Brind’Amour is

quoted as saying “When you see that, it makes you sick. I’m still sick to my stomach about it…If

you watch the video, he slashes him twice—Ovi, whack, whack—then Svech gets him back. I

don’t know if there’s words exchanged, but one guy’s gloves come off way first. And that’s Ovi,

not our guy…So, it’s a little bit frustrating, because he got hurt. It’s his first fight. He’s played 90

games. He’s never fought in his life, and I’m pretty sure Ovi knew that. So, that stuff bothers

me” (qtd. in Joyce). Svechnikov has yet to return to his team and Ovechkin faced no

repercussions for his actions (Joyce). Many rules and regulations have changed in 102 years,
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such as the size of goalie pads, the length of periods, and how overtime will be played during the

playoffs, fighting still remains, which means head injuries—concussions, more specifically still

remain.

The “Golden Boy”

Sidney Crosby was drafted to the NHL as the first pick in the first round of the 2005

draft. In his thirteen years in the league, Crosby has won the Mark Messier NHL Leadership

Award, two Art Ross trophies, two Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophies, three Ted Lindsay

awards, two Hart Memorial trophies, two Conn Smythe trophies, three Stanley Cups, two

Olympic gold medals, a World Cup with Canada, and even a TV Emmy for his role in “There’s

no Place like Home with Sidney Crobsy”, a sports program one-time special produced by the

Pittsburgh Penguins organization (Kilgore, “The Subtle Secret”). Needless to say, Crosby is

undoubtedly one of the NHL’s best players. Many fans and analysts of the game argue that

Crosby is even better than greats Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Brett Hull, Bobby Orr, and

Gordie Howe, just to name a few. NBC analyst Jeremy Roenick said, “I truly believe he’s the

best player in the world,”. However, Sidney Crosby’s concussive history has a list longer than all

of the aforementioned players combined. Now, this is likely due to the fact that records of

concussions were simply not kept before Crosby’s time. But it also speaks to the fact that

fighting and the risk of concussions has not changed much, if at all. With all of the research

readily available on the effects of concussions and CTE, head injuries due to fighting should be

almost nonexistent in the NHL, so why has Sidney Crosby missed 114 games, nearly one and a

half regular seasons, in his career due to concussion-related issues (“Sidney”)? If the NHL is

doing nothing to protect their “golden boy” what are they doing for their “less valuable” players?
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What will it take for the NHL to change their concussion protocols or the way the game is

played—more players dying from CTE due to concussions that they obtained during fights?

The History of Fighting in the NHL

There are a number of theories behind the integration of fighting into the game, the most

common is that the relative lack of rules in the early history of hockey encouraged physical

intimidation (Bernstein). In 1922, the NHL introduced Rule 56, which regulated fighting, or

“fisticuffs”, as it was called in the official NHL rulebook. Rather than ejecting players from the

game, players would be given a five-minute major penalty (Bernstein). Although fighting was

rarer from the 1920s through the 1960s, it was often brutal in nature; author of The Code: The

Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL Ross Bernstein said of the game’s early

years that it “…Was probably more like rugby on skates than it was…hockey”. Star players were

also known to fight for themselves during the Original Six era, when fewer teams existed than in

later years (Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New

York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leafs). However, as the NHL’s expansion in the late 1960s

created more roster spots and spread star players more widely throughout the league, enforcers,

or “goons”, became more common. The average number of fights per game rose above 1.0

during the 1980s, peaking at 1.17 in the 1983-1984 (Kahane and Shmanske). That season, a

bench-clearing brawl broke out at the end of the second period of a second-round playoff

matchup between the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens. A second bench-clearing

brawl erupted before the third period began; a total of 252 penalty minutes were incurred and 11

players were ejected. The “Good Friday Massacre” set the tone for all future enforcers (Armour

and AP National Writer). In 2004, a Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators game resulted in

five consecutive brawls in the closing minutes of the game, including fights between many
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players who were not known as fighters. The game ended with an NHL record 419 penalty

minutes and an NHL record 20 players were ejected, leaving five players on the team benches.

The officials took 90 minutes to sort out the penalties that each team received (Armour and AP

National Write). By 2009-2010, the number of fights in the NHL declined to .58 per game. A

further decrease in the frequency of fighting happened over the next five seasons. The 2014-2015

season had 0.32 fights per game (Kahane and Shmanske). In the current NHL rulebook,

“fisticuffs” has been removed. Fighting is now governed under Rule 46 (Bernstein).

Additionally, as mentioned in the opening paragraph, players were required to remove their

helmets before engaging in a fight. The removal of helmets was meant to help protect a player’s

hands and knuckles during a fight. This rule was only removed prior to the 2013-2014 season.

Now, players will be given a two-minute misconduct penalty for removing their helmets prior to

a fight, in addition to a five-minute major penalty for fighting (Wyshynski). Referees are now

given considerable latitude in determining what exactly constitutes a fight and what penalties are

applicable to the participants. As more information connecting fighting and concussions is

released, the rate of fights continues to decrease (Kahane and Shmanske). However, fighting has

not been eliminated in its entirety.

Concussions: What Are They?

Concussions are the most common and least serious type of traumatic brain injuries

(TBIs). Other TBIs include hematomas (bleeding in the brain), contusions (bruising or swelling

of the brain), and skull fractures (when one or more bones in the skull crack or break). The word

comes from the Latin concutere, meaning “to shake violently”. Concussions are most often

caused by a sudden direct blow to the head, causing the brain to smack against the skull in a

violent manner. Essentially, a concussion is the bruising of your brain. Concussions can be tricky
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to diagnose because signs may not appear for days or weeks after the initial injury, however,

sometimes they are apparent right away, as when someone loses consciousness or if they are

dazed and confused following the blow or hit. Symptoms of a concussion may include, but are

not limited to: confusion or feeling dazed, clumsiness, slurred speech, nausea or vomiting,

headache, balance problems or dizziness, blurred vision, sensitivity to light and noise,

sluggishness, ringing in ears, behavior or personality changes, concentration difficulties, and

memory loss (“Concussion”). “Concussions are graded as mild (grade 1), moderate (grade 2), or

severe (grade 3), depending on such factors as loss of consciousness, amnesia, and loss of

equilibrium” (“Concussion”). It is important for all athletes to take care of a concussion and

refrain from physical activity in order to keep post-concussion syndrome (PCS) at bay. PCS is a

complex disorder in which various symptoms—symptoms similar to that of a concussion—last

for weeks, months, or sometimes years after the injury that caused the concussion.

Concussions to CTE

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a brain condition associated with repeated

concussions. The brain of an individual who suffers from CTE slowly deteriorates and will over

time end up losing mass. Certain parts of the brain are prone to atrophy, while other parts are

liable to become enlarged. The Brain Injury Research Institute (BIRI), located in Wheeling, West

Virginia, warns that “Another aspect of CTE is that some areas of the brain experience an

accumulation of tau protein, a substance which serves to stabilize cellular structure in the

neurons, but which may become defective and subsequently may cause majr interference with

the function of the neurons”. In other words, a buildup of tau protein can cause major damage to

various parts of the brain. A buildup of tau protein is also often seen in individuals with

dementia. The BIRI states that potential signs and symptoms of CTE can be “loss of memory,
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difficulty controlling impulsive or erratic behavior, impaired judgement, behavioral disturbances

including aggression and depression, difficulty with balance, and a gradual onset of dementia”

(“What”). Currently, CTE can only be diagnosed post-mortem, after death. CTE has been

diagnosed in several notable cases which received widespread media attention, including the

deaths of three NHL enforcers: Derek Boogaard (accidental overdose), Wade Belak (suicide),

and Rick Rypien (suicide). The suicide death of NFL player Junior Seau, professional wrestler

Chris Benoit who committed suicide after murdering his wife and son, and most recently the

2018 death of the Minnesota-Duluth University hockey star, Andrew Carroll (“What”). All six

aforementioned athletes were found to have CTE upon their untimely demise.

Players vs. the NHL and NHLPA

Studies prove that the chances of developing dementia increase by 80% after you receive

three or more concussions (qtd. in “Former”). Daniel Carcillo, a former NHL player and two-

time Stanley Cup Champion says, “That’s fucking scary. I’d be scared. If I was still playing in

the NHL. If I was Sidney Crosby, if I was any one of those young kids” (qtd. in “Former”).

Carcillo claims that he would have walked away from hockey if he knew the damage he was

doing to his brain. He believes that the NHL and NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA) are

withholding information from the players and that they are not doing enough for these players

after their concussions. He claims that the NHL will send you to a general physician instead of a

neurologist, who actually has the ability to correctly diagnose and treat a concussion. In fact,

Carcillo is quoted as saying “You can take my name off the Stanley Cup twice over. I can’t live

like that anymore,” in response to being asked about his feelings towards how the NHL and

NHLPA handles concussions in their players (qtd. in “Former”). Carcillo is one of the very few

hockey players to speak out against the NHL and the NHLPA. In Canada, hockey is sacred,
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untouchable. The NHL built an empire “by selling the game as the epitome of speed, skill, and

toughness. So the growing awareness of the sport’s consequences on its players has those who

play and love the game wrestling with conflicts regarding corporate responsibility, personal

loyalty and adherence to a way of life” (Kilgore, “Former Players”).

Efforts to Ban Fighting

In 1988, the Canadian Academy of Sport Medicine announced in Position Statement that

“Fighting does cause injuries…At present, it is an epidemic and ritualized blot on the reputation

of the North American game” (Kissick). Criticism against fighting in hockey often arises after

single acts of violence are committed during fights. For example, in 2007, Colton Orr of the New

York Rangers fought with Todd Fedoruk of the Philadelphia Flyers and ended up knocking

Fedoruk unconscious. Fedoruk already had titanium plates in his face form a fight earlier in the

season with Derek Boogaard. The media renewed calls for a fighting ban (Naylor). The first

known death directly related to a hockey fight occurred when Don Sanderson of the Whitby

Dunlops died in January 2009, a month after sustaining a head injury during a fight. His death,

again, renewed calls to ban fighting in the game of hockey (Hackel and Klein). Since, enforcers

such as Bob Probert, Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien, and Wade Belak, have been diagnosed with

CTE following their deaths (Branch). While the NHL has taken steps to limit head trauma from

blindsight hits, the league is still being criticized for doing nothing to reduce fighting (Branch). I

believe that the NHL and NHLPA will not remove fighting from the game, because they feel as

though they would lose fans, and therefore, would lose money.

Conclusion

Many people feel as though fighting should be removed from the game of hockey, and

especially from the NHL. The incidence rate of concussions, even among star players like Sidney
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Crosby, is much too high. These athletes are dying from CTE, which develops following

multiple concussions. CTE then has the potential to lead to a multitude of other issues like early

on-set dementia, drug addiction, and even suicidal behaviors and tendencies (“What”). Because

concussions can be difficult to diagnose and CTE cannot be diagnosed until after death, many,

including executives with the NHL and NHLPA, believe that head injuries are not an issue to be

concerned with. However, a large majority of fans, coaches, analysts, and former and current

players believe that concussions should be taken seriously; much more seriously than they are

currently. The NHL has to remove fighting from the game of hockey, and soon, if they want to

keep the league and their players alive.

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Works Cited

Armour, Nancy, and AP National Writer. “Rules, Equipment Change Fighting's Impact on

NHL.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 16 May 2011,

usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/2011-05-16-2070638346_x.htm. Accessed

20 April 2019.

Bernstein, Ross. The Code: The Unwritten Rules of Fighting and Retaliation in the NHL.

Triumph, 2006. Accessed 21 April 2019.

Branch, John. “Derek Boogaard: A Brain 'Going Bad'.” The New York Times, The New York

Times, 5 Dec. 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/12/06/sports/hockey/derek-boogaard-a-

brain-going-bad.html?pagewanted=1&hp. Accessed 20 April 2019.

“Concussion: Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatments, & Recovery.” WebMD. WebMD. n.d.

www.webmd.com/brain/concussion-traumatic-brain-injury-symptoms-causes-

treatments#1. Accessed 15 March 2019.

“Former NHL Player Daniel Carcillo Discusses Head Trauma and Treatment”, YouTube, 14

June 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4BySsH6FgQ. Accessed 16 March 2019.

Hackel, Stu, and Jeff Z. Klein. “Senior Player Dies From Injury Sustained in On-Ice Fight.” The

New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Jan. 2009,

slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/02/senior-player-dies-from-injury-sustained-in-on-

ice-fight/. Accessed 22 April 2019.

Joyce, Greg. “Whispers, Concern after Andrei Svechnikov Destroyed by Hero Alex

Ovechkin.” New York Post, New York Post, 16 Apr. 2019,

nypost.com/2019/04/16/whispers-concern-after-andrei-svechnikov-destroyed-by-hero-

alex-ovechkin/. Accessed 26 April 2019.

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Kahane, Leo H., and Stephen Shmanske. The Oxford Handbook of Sports Economics. Vol. 1,

Oxford University Press, 2012. Accessed 23 April 2019.

Kilgore, Adam. “Former Players Are Suing the NHL Over Concussions, but Remain Loyal to

Hockey.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 25 May 2016,

www.washingtonpost.com/sports/capitals/former-players-are-suing-the-nhl-over-

concussions-but-remain-loyal-to-hockey/2016/05/25/9e680958-21c5-11e6-aa84-

42391ba52c91_story.html?utm_term=.d392b4d0bcd9. Accessed 22 April 2019.

Kilgore, Adam. “The Subtle Secret to Sidney Crosby's Greatness.” The Washington Post, WP

Company, 30 Apr. 2018, www.washingtonpost.com/sports/the-subtle-secret-to-sidney-

crosbys-greatness/2018/04/30/785a9d28-4c7c-11e8-b725-

92c89fe3ca4c_story.html?utm_term=.1a02d9c0a8aa. Accessed 21 April 2019.

Kissick, James. “Violence and Injuries in Ice Hockey.” Canadian Academy of Sport and

Exercise Medicine, 2007, web.archive.org/web/20170114122248/http://casem-

acmse.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/violence-in-hockey-20071.pdf. Accessed 22

April 2019.

Naylor, David. “Fight On?”. The Globe and Mail. 23 March 2007. Accessed 23 April 2019.

“Sidney Crosby's Concussion History a Concern for Pittsburgh Penguins.” ESPN, ESPN

Internet Ventures, 2 May 2017, www.espn.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/131681/sidney-

crosbys-concussion-history-a-concern-for-the-pittsburgh-penguins. Accessed 19 March

2019.

“What Is CTE?” What Is CTE? Brain Injury Research Institute,

www.protectthebrain.org/Brain-Injury-Research/What-is-CTE-.aspx. Accessed 19 March

2019.
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Wyshynski, Greg. “NHL Fighters Will Be Penalized for Removing Helmets before Brawl; Pass

or Fail?” Yahoo! Sports, Yahoo!, 17 Sept. 2013, 9:58AM, sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-

puck-daddy/nhl-fighters-penalized-removing-helmets-brawl-pass-fail-135847202--

nhl.html. Accessed 15 March 2019.