Hivemind
We're Touched
Don’t players have the choice of whether or not to fight, whether or not to wear a mask?
Let these men use their own judgement.
Maybe it's because I've spent so much of my life in machine shops and shipyards, but Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) isn't really optional in most other professions. It's a mandatory part of having those jobs or even visiting any industrial environment. Nor is it really in hockey, with helmets and padding required to play the game. There's always going to be inherent risk in playing a full contact sport like hockey, and nobody is trying to take that away. But when there's easy, ultra-low-cost ways to mitigate that risk through PPE it just seems absurd to me that the league hasn't followed through with those options. For all the mouth service the league gives about preventing head injuries, they have a simple option right in front of them that can increase the efficacy of helmets (and not just at preventing facial injuries, but also keeping the helmet securely in place as designed, which increases its effectiveness).