The Cost of Concussions in Hockey

By: Greg Ogard

The issue of concussions in professional hockey has been at the forefront of sports safety issues for quite a few years now, as it should be. All major sports that involve contact, specifically head contact, have introduced extensive protocols for athletes suffering from blows to the head or post-concussive symptoms in recent seasons. The NHL, specifically, has implemented new rules and fines in an attempt to discourage and prevent head-to-head contact as well as head-targeting in the game. Despite the new rules put in place by the league, there in fact was an increase in concussions during the 2010-2011 season, and those numbers remained stable the next season as well (The Canadian Press).

With the new penalty of head targeting introduced to the game, as well as the individual case investigation of dangerous hits, I believe the recent actions taken by the NHL are a step in the right direction. However, we are simply not seeing an adequate effect in reduced head injuries to the players. The NHL needs to start strictly enforcing the rules implemented if they hope to see any decrease in the amount of concussions diagnosed in the game today. Referees need to crack down and make an example of players that violate the rules to send a message to the rest of the league that the new rules are here to stay.

Due to the aggressive and physical nature of the game, there are bound to be injuries, and sometimes even severe ones. However, I believe there needs to be a distinction between injuries like ACL tears or broken bones that could end a player’s season versus a concussion that could have lasting effects. These effects can range in severity from headaches and amnesia to severe drug abuse or death as we have seen in a few rare cases like those of Derek Boogaard and Rick Rypien.

Most traditionalist fans of the game would argue that injuries are a part of the sport and that removing the physicality of the game would take a fundamental part of hockey out. Brian Burke, one of the most influential general managers and one of the most respected hockey minds in the game once famously said, “I will personally challenge anyone who wants to get rid of fighting to a fight.” This opinion is resounded by many hockey purists who grew up with “old time hockey” where any player with all of their teeth and any fewer than 30 stitches was an anomaly. I disagree with this view of the game in that there is no need to place players in unnecessary danger simply to retain the tradition of the game. In the 1950’s, goalies never wore helmets because it was considered tradition of the game and they were frowned upon for wearing face protection, therefore suffering serious facial injuries. Today, the goaltenders helmet is one of the most protective pieces of equipment in the game and we have seen facial injuries to goalie essentially disappear.

Cross sections of three brains researched, the brown matter is dead brain tissue caused from CTE (Boston University)

Because of recent medical advances in technology, our understanding of concussions and their impact in the years after players finish their careers is extremely limited. Scientists are just now scratching the surface of a brain disease called Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, which is a degenerative disease that can cause memory loss, depression, and even dementia (Boston University). This condition was found in Derek Boogaard post mortem when he donated his brain to the medical center at Boston University. With more retied stars coming forward with these symptoms, we must consider the cost of the risks we are submitting the players to by allowing the current rules and standards to continue.

Even disregarding player safety, there is an enormous economic cost associated with the treatment and care of players going through concussion protocols. According to a recent New York Times article by Jeff Klein, over three seasons from 2009-2012, the NHL paid out roughly $42.8 million to players suffering from concussions while they were not playing. With the recent budget strain that has hit numerous franchises across the league, this is a huge hit to their bottom line financially. Yet owners and general managers seem to disregard this fact and simply accept that it’s “a part of the game” as has been done for far too many years now. There needs to be a paradigm shift among the managers of the NHL to address this issue before any other players lose their career due to the carelessness of the league. Referees and player safety officials need to be held to higher standards in enforcement of the rules in place.

Interestingly enough, even with the new emphasis on enforcing head contact, only 28% of the concussions reported over the last three season resulted in a penalty or fine by the league. Additionally, only 4.1% of those concussions were penalized under the new rule implementation by the NHL (The Canadian Press). I believe this proves that the league is not truly committed to player safety. Referees not enforcing the rules strictly enough and the NHL Players’ Association not fining players appropriately to alter their actions are not valid excuses for this trend to continue into the future. For example, in a 2011 game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens, Max Pacioretty, a Canadiens player, skated up the wall and Zdeno Chara, a Bruins player, body checked him head first into the stanchion (pictured above right.) This was an extremely dangerous play, and Chara’s intentions in the hit came into question as a criminal case by the Montreal Police Department was opened to investigate the issue. Pacioretty suffered a stage 3 concussion (the highest rating) as well as broken vertebrae in his neck, side-lining him for the rest of the season. Despite the ongoing criminal investigation, the NHL did not fine or suspend Chara stating that the incident was a hockey play with an unfortunate result. This was the first season after the new head contact safety issues were implemented and the league had a chance to make a statement by coming down on Chara and setting an example of the consequences that come with this style of play. However, they decided to hide behind the image of traditional “tough” hockey and allow Chara to continue playing penalty-free.[R8]

With the increase of technology available, there is no excuse for the lack of enforcement of dangerous hits in every game played. With stars of the past like Eric Lindros, Pat LaFontaine, Scott Stevens, and Keith Primeau all having their Hall of Fame careers cut years short due to an absurd amount of concussions it is clearly an issue that can no longer be allowed to slip through the cracks (“NHL Stars Careers Ended by Concussions”). The league was quick to issue new strategies to have every questionable scoring play reviewed immediately by the “war room” in Toronto to ensure the correct calls were being made on a nightly basis. There is no reason for the league not to adopt a similar strategy to review plays that involve head contact or risk of serious injury. It is time to make the game we love a game that everybody can love. However, with the risk we are subjecting our athletes to at the highest level of the game, we are driving away fans and deterring participants from playing this sport.