The NHL and its players need to mandate visors

OVER THE YEARS, STORIES AND pictures in HOCKEY DIGEST have provided a fairly accurate account of the state of the game through different eras. As you wade through this issue, take note of the number of young players wearing visors on their helmets. There are the Minnesota Wilds Marian Gaborik and the New York Rangers' Jaromir Jagr, and, beck, it seems as if everyone on the Colorado Avalanche has one.

Still, not everyone in the NHL wears one. And it's a shame. The gift of sight should not be taken lightly, but it seems that protecting players' vision is a low priority for the league.

Or is it? At his annual State of the NHL address during the All-Star weekend in St Paul, Minn., commissioner Gary Bettman let it be known he would like to see all players wearing some sort of eye shield.

"I've been on record for as long as I can remember, and probably because my son played high school hockey, as favoring visors," Bettman said. "I've said repeatedly that if I had a spouse or a child or a parent playing in the NHL, I would be concerned about eye injuries. Eyes do not heal the way that skin and bones do. That's a concern."

He added that 34% of NHL players are wearing visors, but he also said half of the injuries in the league are facial ones. Of those facial injuries, players not wearing visors account for three times as many as those who wear an eye shield. In fact, through the first 500 games of this season, six players without visors sustained a serious eye injury while no players wearing visors encountered any serious eye injuries.

In the NCAA and many major junior leagues, visors are mandatory. But in the NHL the decision primarily rests with the Players' Association right now. Certainly, saving the league from extinction is its major concern first and foremost, but should there be a new Collective Bargaining Agreement worked out, visors must be addressed. Some players say visors limit their ability to maneuver, but a puck to the eyes could permanently hamper a player's agility--not only on the ice.

Like helmets before them, visors should be gradually integrated into the game for players who enter the NHL after a certain date.

"This is a matter that we continue to discuss with the Players' Association," Bellman said. "Some players feel it's imperative that there be free choice."

There can't be free choice in a sports league, though. The NHL must protect its players, even if it's from themselves.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Century Publishing Co.
COPYRIGHT 2008 Gale, Cengage Learning