NHL mandating helmets in warmups

[SoupNazi]

Lmfao false equivalency. There are so many players getting concussions in warmup. If this is the axiom for this policy, then ban fighting and hitting, a high stick/elbow is a march penalty. That will be the most effective course for stopping brain disease related to conussions.

You can l your a o as much as you want, but you still haven't explained why you're against this.

Or do you just find the hairdos rocked by NHL stars too irresistible? Like these?

 

[Pip]

If you’re actually upset about this then I feel bad for you.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Lmfao false equivalency. There are so many players getting concussions in warmup. If this is the axiom for this policy, then ban fighting and hitting, a high stick/elbow is a march penalty. That will be the most effective course for stopping brain disease related to conussions.

Which has less impact on the game? Banning hitting? or having guys wear helmets in warmup?

There's always going to be concussion/injury risks in hockey. But I can see the logic behind having guys wear buckets during warmups. It has zero impact on the game and can help prevent a fluke injury.

 

[TheSituation]

Yeah they definitely should tbh. No reason for players to get hit with high sticks/pucks in the face.

They should at least be allowed to wear them even if they're not injured

 

[KeydGV21]

If we want to avoid injuries, everyone should wear a visor, no one should be allowed to shoot the puck more than 80 km/h, no one is allowed to block shots, no hitting, no slashing, skates need to be dulled to avoid cutting each other, the posts need to be padded to protect against collision, boards need to be more flexible, the ice needs to be softer in case someone falls, no fighting, ect, ect.

Or you know, we let grown men play a sport and chose to wear a helmet or not while they warm up. Crazy, I know.

If we want to avoid injuries, everyone should wear a visor, no one should be allowed to shoot the puck more than 80 km/h, no one is allowed to block shots, no hitting, no slashing, skates need to be dulled to avoid cutting each other, the posts need to be padded to protect against collision, boards need to be more flexible, the ice needs to be softer in case someone falls, no fighting, ect, ect.

Or you know, we let grown men play a sport and chose to wear a helmet or not while they warm up. Crazy, I know.

I’m glad you agree not taking preventative measures to protect 8 figure investments would be crazy…

They do? There's 2624 regular season games each year, when was the last time a player got injured from a puck during a warm-up?

There’s literally been examples in this thread…stop being lazy to try and argue your point…

 

[ItWasJustified]

There’s literally been examples in this thread…stop being lazy to try and argue your point…

Two players have been brought up since 2012. That's 25000+ games. And Taylor Hall wasn't hit with a puck. he slipped on a puck and had a team mate slice his face. A freak accident that is one in a million. And I don't have a point. I couldn't care less since I'm on the other side of the pond and don't watch pre-game warm-ups in the NHL.

 

[egelband]

I think the players ought to be wearing helmets to and from the matches, too. Don't fool yourselves. Traffic accidents are real. In fact, I remember Bob Saget. I'd advise these guys wear helmets in their hotel rooms too. At least after sundown.

 

[SomeDude]

They do? There's 2624 regular season games each year, when was the last time a player got injured from a puck during a warm-up?

Often enough they are now mandating helmets being worn.

 

[Heffyhoof]

Don't worry guys, one day all danger and potential harm will be safely regulated away

 

[ItWasJustified]

Often enough they are now mandating helmets being worn.

But that's wrong. They're not regulating this based on the past. They're doing it based on the potential future aka lawsuits from the 1 in a 1000 player that may get injured during warm-up.

 

[njdevils1982]

Imagine they grandfathered the trapezoid rule so that Brodeur could keep playing it outside the trapezoid while all the newer goalies couldn't.

i wish. what a shame it was implemented to begin with though

 

[David Bruce Banner]

FFS, in the warmups? Might was well make them wear helmets in the locker room too.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

I think the timing of this movie is odd and made the cynical joke about it being tied to helmet ads, but honestly I don't really understand why people are so upset with this move.

 

[SomeDude]

But that's wrong. They're not regulating this based on the past. They're doing it based on the potential future aka lawsuits from the 1 in a 1000 player that may get injured during warm-up.

I cannot imagine what someone’s life has to consist of for this to even barely move the needle of caring.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Every NHL fan: “can you please stop allowing boarding, slashes to the face, headshots, etc?”
NHL: “Helmets in warmups it is!”

I don’t care about this, but it pisses me off that they go for the optics, are too chickenshit to actually just make it happen immediately, and yet consistently don’t give a f*** about players’ health problems.

 

[ItWasJustified]

I cannot imagine what someone’s life has to consist of for this to even barely move the needle of caring.

Talk to your mirror and you might find out.

 

[SomeDude]

Talk to your mirror and you might find out.

I don’t care what they wear during warmups. They could come out in a full suit of medieval armor or half naked. It literally has no influence on my enjoyment of the game.

it is funny seeing the same few expected people who get their panties in a bunch being outraged every time something doesn’t stay the same, though.

 

[JoVel]

This thread has a big "old man yells at cloud" feeling to it.

Let me ask, what does playing without a helmet in the warmup add to the entertainment product that is the NHL? If the answer is nothing, why not prevent needless injuries that are easily preventable?

 

[Sysreq]

Two players have been brought up since 2012. That's 25000+ games. And Taylor Hall wasn't hit with a puck. he slipped on a puck and had a team mate slice his face. A freak accident that is one in a million. And I don't have a point. I couldn't care less since I'm on the other side of the pond and don't watch pre-game warm-ups in the NHL.

Watching the video, I am not even 100% convinced a helmet would have stopped that. Could have just gotten the skate lodged deeper into the cheek or below the visor.

I think the no helmets thing was a good way to humanize the players before the game. Let you know what they actually looked like. Some of the best photos are from warm ups.

What’s next, recall the goal if players take their helmet off after an OT win? You watch the 2015 Stanley cup final and those guys had their helmet off before the horn even finished. I say we asterisk that win for safety. Ridiculous.

 

[Beau Knows]

If it's because of ads, then yeah that's weak. But otherwise it makes sense, the NHL does not want to see star players missing games because they wanted to show off their hair before the game.

Will be interesting to see if they keep that requirement at all-star skills competitions though. I know it's not exactly the same, but in that case the NHL will care that the players are a little less identifiable.

 

[GeNeXt]

I thought this was going to be mandated years ago when Taylor Hall had his face stepped on

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

FFS, in the warmups? Might was well make them wear helmets in the locker room too.

The threat of slipping and hitting the back of your skull on a hard surface significantly decrease in that setting but of course you knew that and just wanted to make a nonsensical statement

 

[Chuck Norris Trophy]

Somebody seriously has a problem with this? I mean, seriously?

 

[CraigBillington]

Guys get hit in the head with pucks quite often in warmups. You only ever hear about the ones who weren't wearing their helmet.

Happened to me, I took a slapper to the base of the skull in warm up, or at least where it would be if I wasn't wearing a helmet.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

The threat of slipping and hitting the back of your skull on a hard surface significantly decrease in that setting but of course you knew that and just wanted to make a nonsensical statement

There's always a threat of something bad happening... but, honestly, I'd really don't care if players have to wear helmets during warmups, although to me it seems like a case of safety overkill and I feel that mandating such a thing is somewhat ludicrous.
Like other posters have said, we'll see if the NHL extends this rule to the All-Star game competitions which seem as though they could be potentially more dangerous than warmups are. Or does marketing their product take precedence in that situation.
And maybe I'm just being an old guy, but I miss the individuality of players. Helmets are a good thing, but it sure used to be cool to see guys like Guy Lafleur race down the ice, hair flowing in the wind... and the Gary Doak comb-overs and the Phil Esposito Brylcreem look and Wayne Cashman looking like Curly from the Three Stooges. Good times.