NHL To Grandfather In Visors

[Gee Wally]

It's time.................

 

[11MilesPerJohan]

First off, I do agree with the move to make visors mandatory from a safety standpoint...I think it was inevitable, and I'm not against...however, I do look at this move and the recent move to ban fighting in the junior rank (which I also think is the right move) and look at this long terms as two things that could certainly reduce fighting in the NHL or be steps along the way to completely removing it from the game.

Maybe I am being too dramatic about it, but there will certainly be fewer players that are able to get noticed by an NHL team for their fighting ability, and for some guys, that is their inroad into the NHL. I also think the visors will reduce fighting, not by a lot, but it might deter guys in some situations.

I just wonder that if at some point in the distant future, they will require full visors. I know it seems far fetched, but years ago when guys were skating around without anything on their domes, I don't think anyone thought that we would get to a point where both a helmet and a visor were mandatory. We'll see how it plays out. If the higher-ups ever want to get fighting out of the game, that would be the way to do it. All it would take are a few more injuries from guys getting hit in the face with a puck or a stick. Yes, even with a visor a stick can find its way to your eye. And as we saw with Crosby, a visor doesn't protect you from a puck to the jaw.

Overall, definitely understand it from a player safety standpoint, but I do wonder how it might impact the game long term.

 

[ranold26]

Long overdue.

 

[Ratty]

It's too late for Carl Soderberg. But if it saves an eye for a future player, I'm all for it.

 

[deliciouspie]

i'm much more concerned about the chilling effects of a slippery slope and respecting people's want for choice than affecting outcomes positively, because i am a child

 

[Therick67]

See previous post.

And yeah, they're adults. But these guys also have wives, and children, and parents, who care about them, and in the case of their children, depend on them. Hockey is dangerous enough without forgoing a piece of plastic that can make the difference between laughing off an injury and losing your career. Just ask Chris Pronger.

Chris Pronger is retired because of concussions. Yes, he did suffer an eye injury.

I'd like to see the players have a choice. Hockey is a dangerous game, the only way to prevent injuries is to sell insurance. Ask Marc Savard.

 

[Scotto74]

I have to dress business casual for work.

I don't remember a vote on that though.

Bastids how dare my employer tell me what to wear.

 

[Therick67]

I have to dress business casual for work.

I don't remember a vote on that though.

Bastids how dare my employer tell me what to wear.

I'm guessing people don't pay to watch you go to work. Do they regulate your shoes? or can you wear slip on as opposed to ones with laces?

 

[Therick67]

First off, I do agree with the move to make visors mandatory from a safety standpoint...I think it was inevitable, and I'm not against...however, I do look at this move and the recent move to ban fighting in the junior rank (which I also think is the right move) and look at this long terms as two things that could certainly reduce fighting in the NHL or be steps along the way to completely removing it from the game.

Maybe I am being too dramatic about it, but there will certainly be fewer players that are able to get noticed by an NHL team for their fighting ability, and for some guys, that is their inroad into the NHL. I also think the visors will reduce fighting, not by a lot, but it might deter guys in some situations.

I just wonder that if at some point in the distant future, they will require full visors. I know it seems far fetched, but years ago when guys were skating around without anything on their domes, I don't think anyone thought that we would get to a point where both a helmet and a visor were mandatory. We'll see how it plays out. If the higher-ups ever want to get fighting out of the game, that would be the way to do it. All it would take are a few more injuries from guys getting hit in the face with a puck or a stick. Yes, even with a visor a stick can find its way to your eye. And as we saw with Crosby, a visor doesn't protect you from a puck to the jaw.

Overall, definitely understand it from a player safety standpoint, but I do wonder how it might impact the game long term.

This is my concern.

I like the game with fighting in it, and this feels like a step in the direction of eliminating it.

 

[Artemis]

Chris Pronger is retired because of concussions. Yes, he did suffer an eye injury.

I'd like to see the players have a choice. Hockey is a dangerous game, the only way to prevent injuries is to sell insurance. Ask Marc Savard.

Pronger was in town to catch a game and catch up Flyers ownership on his status, 16 months after an inadvertent stick to his right eye left him with vision loss and severe concussion symptoms - and psychological damage as well.

For Hartnell, it was a teammate's accidental stick. "I could never go back to not wearing one," he said. "It made me sick with Staal the other night. He was screaming, holding his eye, you could see all that blood. And then you see the replay after the game, it all makes you cringe.

"It's too important, your eyes," he said. "You see guys lose their careers because of it."

http://articles.philly.com/2013-03-08/sports/37564106_1_chris-pronger-visor-headaches

 

[Scotto74]

I'm guessing people don't pay to watch you go to work. Do they regulate your shoes? or can you wear slip on as opposed to ones with laces?

what does people paying to watch me work have to do with it? NHL is employer player is employee. When I did welding and concret work I was required to wear steeltoe boots. No one watched me there but it was still required as a safety caution. I was also required to wear a hard hat on the job when not welding.

Visors are for safety not style.

 

[Scotto74]

I'm guessing people don't pay to watch you go to work. Do they regulate your shoes? or can you wear slip on as opposed to ones with laces?

our sales people and people who meet with clients do indeed have specific shoes and suites they are required to wear.

bottom line is it is not uncommon for employers to tell employees what is required to be worn.

 

[Therick67]

http://articles.philly.com/2013-03-08/sports/37564106_1_chris-pronger-visor-headaches

He suffered multiple concussions prior to the eye injury. That one incident alone didn't cause all his problems.

I think the players should have a choice, how controversial.

Lot's of players have lost careers to injuries that have nothing to do with eyes. In fact, all the 'safety' equipment improvements have, IMO led to more concussion problems, not less.

 

[rudos1]

Every player in the league should have to wear them.....



Except Matt Cooke...

 

[Ratty]

This is my concern.

I like the game with fighting in it, and this feels like a step in the direction of eliminating it.

Considering the impact of concussions and the object of a fight is to concuss your opponent, yes, you might be right.

 

[Therick67]

Considering the impact of concussions and the object of a fight is to concuss your opponent, yes, you might be right.

Maybe they should take a look at the elbow and shoulder pads, because plenty of players have concussions who don't fight and wear visors.

 

[bosoxmrkn]

A lot of people seem to be getting worked up over what really amounts to a very minor change in the grand scheme of things.

 

[patty59]

I have to dress business casual for work.

I don't remember a vote on that though.

Bastids how dare my employer tell me what to wear.

Hockey players also have uniforms that they have to wear.


I personally think they should have a choice and if they are made available to them, I think that the league is doing their due diligence.

But don't try to sell me some crap about how the players are finally doing something great for their peers safety when this doesn't even affect a single player in the NHL right now.


When they made seatbelts mandatory, they didn't allow people born before 1960 to not wear them.

 

[Scotto74]

Hockey players also have uniforms that they have to wear.


I personally think they should have a choice and if they are made available to them, I think that the league is doing their due diligence.

But don't try to sell me some crap about how the players are finally doing something great for their peers safety when this doesn't even affect a single player in the NHL right now.


When they made seatbelts mandatory, they didn't allow people born before 1960 to not wear them.

I agree with you I am on the side of let them choose BUT the NHL is the employeer and if they make a dress code be it fashion or safety (within reason) then it is what it is and the employees should do it.

 

[patty59]

I agree with you I am on the side of let them choose BUT the NHL is the employeer and if they make a dress code be it fashion or safety (within reason) then it is what it is and the employees should do it.

I agree, but the way this is going to be is it's not the same for everyone.

Not a big deal either, but I think they should have a choice and the grandfathering thing is hypocritical

 

[Artemis]

Hockey players also have uniforms that they have to wear.


I personally think they should have a choice and if they are made available to them, I think that the league is doing their due diligence.

But don't try to sell me some crap about how the players are finally doing something great for their peers safety when this doesn't even affect a single player in the NHL right now.


When they made seatbelts mandatory, they didn't allow people born before 1960 to not wear them.

Rather than use seatbelts as an analogy, why not helmets in the NHL? It's the same situation.

Anyway, I don't understand how this bothers anyone. The player it saves could very well be our own.

 

[bruins4life81]

Im not sure i understand this whole "Grandfathering" thing, but does it mean there will eventually come a time when no one in the league will be playing without one?

 

[ReggieMoto]

Im not sure i understand this whole "Grandfathering" thing, but does it mean there will eventually come a time when no one in the league will be playing without one?

Yes.

 

[Therick67]

I'm not sure why, by having an opinion you are bothered? I simply feel it should be the players choice. The current NHL players just simply took the easy way. Anyone that WANTS to wear a visor can, nobody is stopping them or telling them they can't or shouldn't wear them.

I also think this could be the start of the attempt to remove fighting, and that's not something I want to see.

 

[Scotto74]

Im not sure i understand this whole "Grandfathering" thing, but does it mean there will eventually come a time when no one in the league will be playing without one?

yes anyone currently in the NHL has the choice. All new players are required to have them so as the current players retire and leave the NHL it will phase out the people that have the choice of wearing them eventually leading to 100% of the players having them on.