Panel of NHL Governors Discusses NHL’s Concussion Protocol
PALM BEACH, Fla. — When the game’s brightest young talent questions the decision making of the league’s recently-implemented concussion spotters, the issue understandably goes viral.
Indeed, when Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid rubbed his jaw after absorbing a hit versus the Minnesota Wild Sunday, and was removed from the game to be checked out under the orders of one of the aforementioned spotters, he took issue with the protocol.
“It kind of sucks because that’s the rule,” McDavid said afterward, claiming there had been nothing wrong with his health.
“I hit my mouth, grabbed it, and they took that as something that it wasn’t,” he added.
In the minds of various NHL governors, there was no debating the ruling. In surveying a handful of them here at the NHL’s annual December Board of Governors meetings, the most frequent response we heard was: It’s better to err on the side of caution.
