Those with access to The Atlantic this is a powerful essay by Ken Dryden.
Bettman is first and foremost a lawyer and he knows the legal swamp the NHL is facing with concussions. Dryden is also a lawyer who just happens to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Dryden: Bettman and NHL concussions — Knee deep in the big...
Gary Bettman chooses not to talk publicly about concussions and the NHL, citing the pending litigation involving the former players. But to introduce the changes needed to make the NHL game safer has nothing to do with the lawsuit. Bettman can instruct the Competition Committee to begin exploring options tomorrow.
Bettman prizes loyalty in those who have stood by him — Jacobs, Anschutz and other owners; his main hockey lieutenant, Colin Campbell; and his other hockey guys. Bettman is an employee of the league, but after 25 years as its commissioner, he has earned the owners’ trust. He, not they, is the most powerful voice in hockey. He will not throw them under the bus. Yet his words put them into positions where, under oath, their answers bring embarrassment to themselves.
This is all so unnecessary. There is an easy, viable solution. Elbows and sticks to the head have been penalized for decades, and a stick to the face has brought an automatic penalty for the past several years. Penalize all hits to the head the same way — no excuses. No convoluted explanations. Whether such a hit is intentional or accidental, a “hockey play” or not, the brain doesn’t distinguish. It doesn’t care. The damage is the same.
NHL owners love Bettman. He has brought stability to their league, he has made the teams they own worth vastly more money, and he has brought competitive parity so that when things go wrong, their teams need not remain at the bottom for long. Almost universally, these owners have said nothing publicly about concussions and brain injuries. But these video depositions surely must make them squirm.
Bettman is first and foremost a lawyer and he knows the legal swamp the NHL is facing with concussions. Dryden is also a lawyer who just happens to be in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Dryden: Bettman and NHL concussions — Knee deep in the big...
Gary Bettman chooses not to talk publicly about concussions and the NHL, citing the pending litigation involving the former players. But to introduce the changes needed to make the NHL game safer has nothing to do with the lawsuit. Bettman can instruct the Competition Committee to begin exploring options tomorrow.
Bettman prizes loyalty in those who have stood by him — Jacobs, Anschutz and other owners; his main hockey lieutenant, Colin Campbell; and his other hockey guys. Bettman is an employee of the league, but after 25 years as its commissioner, he has earned the owners’ trust. He, not they, is the most powerful voice in hockey. He will not throw them under the bus. Yet his words put them into positions where, under oath, their answers bring embarrassment to themselves.
This is all so unnecessary. There is an easy, viable solution. Elbows and sticks to the head have been penalized for decades, and a stick to the face has brought an automatic penalty for the past several years. Penalize all hits to the head the same way — no excuses. No convoluted explanations. Whether such a hit is intentional or accidental, a “hockey play” or not, the brain doesn’t distinguish. It doesn’t care. The damage is the same.
NHL owners love Bettman. He has brought stability to their league, he has made the teams they own worth vastly more money, and he has brought competitive parity so that when things go wrong, their teams need not remain at the bottom for long. Almost universally, these owners have said nothing publicly about concussions and brain injuries. But these video depositions surely must make them squirm.
