There were 14 concussions through the first four weeks of the NHL calendar.
Well, we think. That's 14 suspected concussions, since only eight of those were officially diagnosed and released by an NHL team. The other six are believed to be concussions, either by confirmation of the player afterward or evidenced by obvious head trauma and subsequent reactions.
Are concussions occurring more often than past years? It is impossible to say. The NHL does not release injury information and only compels general managers to designate whether an injury is of the "upper" or "lower" body variety. We've been forced to take Gary Bettman at his word when he says concussions are either up or down at occasional press conferences.
In 2015, with concussion awareness at an all-time high, have we reached the point where concussions have transcended the "upper-body" shield?
For years, NHL general managers revolted against the release of injury specifics, fearing that opponents would target listed players.
The NHL's Department of Player Safety already reviews every hit, slash, elbow and slew foot in every game. Questionable video is clipped and sent to a team of experts for review. Particular emphasis is placed on any hit involving the head. It seems impossible that any player could target the head of another player and get away with it today - let alone in a premeditated fashion against a player with a noted concussion history.
Instead, the NHL's vague injury reporting criteria only allows the nebulous shadow hanging over concussions to linger.
Compare that to Sunday, when the NFL confirmed an investigation is underway into why the Indianapolis Colts failed to disclose quarterback Andrew Luck fractured his ribs. He was listed as "out" with a shoulder injury. To avoid forfeiture of a draft pick, according to ESPN.com, the Colts must argue multiple fractured ribs are "not a significant injury" or that they "never limited Luck's practice time."
The NFL's 2015 injury reporting policy is stringent, according to ESPN.com:
In the NFL, "integrity of the game" also means, "making sure hands are not being greased by Las Vegas."
In the NHL, we now have three types of approaches when it comes to disclosing injuries.
In Edmonton, for instance, Oilers coach Todd McLellan rarely says anything other than "day-to-day" about a specific injury, not even whether it is "upper" or "lower." GM Peter Chiarelli only issues a release from the team when the injury is more serious and the player will be out for a period of time, such as the case of Jordan Eberle.
In the case of Oilers winger Lauri Korpikoski, who has sat out since a crushing hit by Minnesota's Matt Dumba last week, McLellan has only said "day-to-day." Nothing more.
In Philadelphia, Flyers GM Ron Hextall labels concussions as "upper-body" injuries. His reasoning is for consistency across all injury announcements, unless they require a lengthy rehab stint. That left centre Sean Couturier, out since being rocked by Boston's Zac Rinaldo on Oct. 21, to fend for himself against reporters this week. Couturier finally admitted this is his first concussion. Couturier did not accompany the Flyers on their trip to Western Canada.
Then, there are the forthright GMs who believe in announcing concussions, tearing down the charade. Ottawa, Detroit, Boston, St. Louis and the Rangers have all announced concussions this season to players. Stars GM Jim Nill explained his thinking on Sunday.
"I'd rather not have people speculate," Nill said. "During a game, I'll likely announce it as an 'upper-body' injury until I can meet with a doctor after the game. Once a true diagnosis has been made, I usually make the announcement of a concussion."
The difficulty is every concussion is unique, not all players react the same way. Some concussion symptoms do not surface until days later. Detroit's Landon Ferraro sustained a blow to the on Saturday night against Ottawa, but returned to the game. His status might not be known until he gets out of bed on Monday. In the NHL, once an official diagnosis has been made by a doctor, it should become public.
Players do not benefit from concussion secrecy - it only encourages shrouding of symptoms. Announcing concussions will not devalue players; all teams can access medical records before acquiring a player. There are no U.S. health privacy laws to hide behind; the NFL has gotten around that. Any fear of retribution for a player is unfounded.
It's just that while the NHL is engaged in a legal battle with former players over concussion awareness, it's extremely unlikely the league will shift rules in favour of concussion transparency.
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