LadyStanley
Registered User
http://www.cbssports.com/nhl/story/...loser-to-ending-little-disclosure-on-injuries
While the NFL requires near full disclosure, mainly due to concerns with pressure from bettors, the NHL has general RS and playoff guidelines on reporting injuries, which some teams obfuscate even further.
While the NFL requires near full disclosure, mainly due to concerns with pressure from bettors, the NHL has general RS and playoff guidelines on reporting injuries, which some teams obfuscate even further.
Reporters, through the Professional Hockey Writers Association and other entities, have pressed for more precise injury information for years. But minus that outside pressure, the NHL isn't likely to replace its current, ambiguous system for injury reporting.
All teams are required to release injuries during the regular season only if a player is expected to miss a game or not return to the game due to injury. The standards are a bit higher in the playoffs, according to NHL spokesman Frank Brown.
"When an injury occurs in a Stanley Cup playoff game, a club spokesperson must notify the media of the approximate location, nature and severity of an injury as soon as possible," Brown said.
But Brown noted one exception to that rule. Teams don't have to disclose an injury if releasing the information would "jeopardize the player's physical well-being if and when the player returns to play." The teams could interpret that fairly broadly, and teams might not want to, say, disclose a hand injury that could be zeroed in on by an opponent during the game.
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Teams are not allowed to release misleading or false information to the media and team public relations staffs must receive an update on a player's injury status during the playoffs, according to Brown. Teams can be fined for not complying with the rule, although Brown said such fines are considered confidential and not released publicly.
[San Jose Sharks scout, and former Toronto GM John] Ferguson, however, said it's not unheard of for an injured ankle to be called a stomach virus.
"It's all part of that paranoid atmosphere," Ferguson said. "I think all the teams approach it the same way. That's one of the reasons why medical personnel are never made available to the media. It's about keeping those competitive secrets. The mentality of some organizations is that you do what needs to be done."
