Concussions And Fighting Continue To Be Hot Topic Around NHL

By Catherine Silverman | Oct 15, 2014

Jan 26, 2014; New York City, NY, USA; NHL former player Mike Milbury skates with youngsters on a miniature rink before the Stadium Series hockey game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports /

The NHL continues to discuss the best way to lower the number of concussions inflicted during the season

Mike Milbury has made sure that there’s no confusion about where he stands on lowering the number of fights found across the NHL– and that’s very much on the affirmative.

Milbury has acknowledged that he finds himself extremely lucky to be one of the league’s former scrappers who has suffered no long-lasting repercussions for the number of fights he got in over the course of his career. He mentioned how heartbreaking it is, as a league veteran, to find himself sitting idle as growing numbers of his contemporaries find themselves suffering from irreversible neurological damage from the concussions they sustained during league fights and hits to the head.

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One doesn’t need to look back as far as Milbury’s playing career to see what he means. Chris Pronger, who remains on the Philadelphia Flyers payroll until 2017, has been on injured reserve since 2011. He serves on the league’s board for Player Safety now, but has been unable to play for years due to post-concussion syndrome.

He isn’t alone in this- former Boston Bruins forward Marc Savard has been dealing with the same post-concussion issues since 2011 as well, when he was hit with a blind side check by then Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke. These two are only the big names with shortened careers, as well- numerous other players have been forced into early retirement due to lingering issues from head traumas.

It comes as no surprise that the league is looking into the elimination of concussions, particularly in the wake of the NFL’s legal issues surrounding the very same problem. What’s curious is the way the league has suggested handling the problem- which is the prevention and elimination of fighting, seemingly altogether.

While fighting is obviously not a necessity in hockey, it has been long-regarded an integral part of the sport itself. Should the league look to eliminate fights, the way hockey is played could be in for a complete reshaping- and soon.

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