EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ (AP) — The death of American hockey player Adam Johnson from a skate blade to the neck during a game in England is leading to renewed discussions about cut-resistant protection in the NHL and other leagues.
Commissioner Gary Bettman and Players Association Executive Director Marty Walsh made contact on Sunday, immediately after the death, to establish further discussions between the league and the union. For several years, both parties have been studying injuries caused by skate cuts and ways to reduce and prevent them. Today, the topic has become more urgent at different levels of sport.
“We’re going to explore everything,” Walsh said Wednesday. “We need to continue to have conversations about this as we move forward here. It’s a change for the players, but it’s also about protecting them, so I think we’ll have those conversations as we move forward here.”
Johnson, a 29-year-old from Minnesota, died in hospital after being cut in the neck by an opponent’s skate blade during a game Saturday night in the Elite Ice Hockey League. The league called it a “freak accident” and South Yorkshire Police said they investigate.
The incident has already had an impact beyond the Atlantic Ocean, with the American Hockey League and ECHL affiliates. Pittsburgh Penguins, the organization Johnson played for, making neckwear mandatory for players. Last summer, the AHL and ECHL mandated cut-resistant wrist, foot and ankle protection, in consultation with the Professional Hockey Players’ Association.
“We’ve seen it with other things, especially with visors: if players get used to them in the AHL, then they’ll want to continue using them in the NHL, so that’s the theory with the wrist guards and Socks that it’s something new and players have to get used to it,” AHL President and CEO Scott Howson told The Associated Press by phone Tuesday. “Given what happened this weekend with Adam Johnson, we are working with the NHL to determine what the next step will be in terms of neck guards.”
The English Ice Hockey Association has announced it will make neckwear compulsory from January 1, 2024, citing possible supply issues. TJ Oshie NHL Washington Capitals said the clothing and equipment company he co-owns has already exhausted its entire supply of cut-resistant neck protection.
No such mandate currently exists in the NHL, although many players have added Kevlar or other protective materials in the decade since becoming a five-time All-Star. Erik Karlsson suffered a torn Achilles tendon following a cut on his skate. Evander Kane missed more than two months last season after his left wrist was cut by a skate blade.
Such injuries have made skate cuts a topic of great importance for several years.
“It’s on fire,” Bettman said. “It’s something that we’ve looked at in terms of wrist cuts, leg cuts – and worse – and it’s something that we’re going to continue to discuss and continue to study.”
Walsh said skate blade safety was a new issue when he met with a team Sunday night and players contacted members of his staff to discuss it. The same goes for minor league players who belong to the PHPA, many of whose opinions have changed rapidly since Johnson’s death.
“The topic is now the focus of team meetings — players are talking about it,” PHPA executive director Larry Landon told the AP by phone Wednesday. “Our guys are asking for them. Some guys ask for neck guards. A lot of guys who knew Adam want neck guards out of respect for him, and we’ll see where that goes in the coming weeks.
While the desire to try protective gear has increased, it’s not yet clear whether the NHL and players in the world’s best hockey league are rushing to make neck guards mandatory. Walsh expects discussions with players and the league office to continue, just as they did with visors and, decades earlier, helmets.
“We don’t impose equipment changes without the agreement of the players’ association,” Bettman said. “This has always been a collaborative effort, and together we have studied cut-resistant materials and skate blade injuries over the past few years. This is not something new that we need to focus on .
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