Bolland’s concussion part of big NHL discussion
Dave Bolland’s condition had not improved Monday, according to coach Joel Quenneville, which raises concerns that the Blackhawks center’s concussion could be a more serious injury.
“Right now, it’s tough to give you a timeline on Bolly,” Quenneville said. “Right now, I don’t think anything has changed over the last couple days in his health.”
Tampa Bay defenseman Pavel Kubina caused Bolland’s concussion with an elbow to the center’s head last Wednesday — the kind of blow the NHL is addressing this week at the general managers meetings in Florida.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said Monday the league had reviewed almost every single concussion from this season and concluded there was no one single factor that contributed to them.
“There is no magic bullet to deal with this,” Bettman told reporters. “I know that it’s an emotional, intense subject, particularly for our fans. We get it. But dealing with this issue is not something you can do whimsically or emotionally. You really have to understand what’s going on.”
According to figures from the league, 26 percent of concussions this season were caused by “accidental” collisions, while 44 percent occurred from what the NHL considers a “legal” hit.
Eight percent of concussions were caused in fights, and 17 percent fell under the heading of an “illegal” hit, such as Kubina’s on Bolland. The league left 5 percent as “reason not available,” since it could not find video of every hit.
Bettman offered a five-step plan he intends to implement in an effort to curb concussions.
ŸExplore reforms on equipment.
ŸRevising the current concussion protocol. If a player is suspected of being concussed during a game, that player must be removed from the bench and taken to a quiet area where the player is assessed by a medical doctor, who is not the team’s athletic therapist.
The player will be given a SCAT test before he is cleared to return to play.
ŸIn dealing with players who are deemed repeat offenders on illegal hits to the head, penalties will be assessed to not only the player but also to the team and/or the head coach.
ŸSafety engineers will do a full evaluation of the playing area in each of the league’s 30 rinks. Individual arenas will have to conform to higher safety standards, such as removing seamless glass.
ŸAssembling of a panel to continue to look at concussions.
Tip-ins:
Defenseman Brian Campbell was unable to play Monday because of the left-foot injury that limited him to seven minutes Sunday at Washington. Joel Quenneville listed Campbell’s status as day to day. … John Scott replaced Campbell on defense…
Antti Niemi started his 25th straight game for the Sharks but was pulled in the second period after allowing 4 goals … Corey Crawford started his 15th game in a row.