NHL Insider Slams NHL Over Handling of John Tavares Concussion Scare
NHL insider Nick Kypreos blasted the NHL Concussion Protocol after John Tavares was injured with a headshot in Game 4's OT period.
With the Maple Leafs still reeling a bit after a 4-3 OT loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, a lot of talk surrounded the hit that Artem Zub delivered to John Tavares; a dirty elbow shot that saw Tavares knocked out for half of the extra frame, and put Leafs Nation up in arms.
But heading into Game 5, there's still some concerns regarding if Zub and the Senators are going to try and run roughshod over the Maple Leafs given they seemingly can do so without consequences.
But one NHL insider that took exception to that is Nick Kypreos, who blasted the NHL's concussion protocol after the hit on Tavares:
Just the mere fact that it really bothers me when I continue to watch guys getting pulled off for concussion protocol, and see hits like that in other instances where a guy doesn't come off. Okay, you're in the visiting building, are the doctors independent, are they regular contributors for the Senators?
Is it easier to pull someone off protocol if he's on the visiting team? Does Brady Tkachuk miss half of an integral part that could have gotten you eliminated? All I know is that sometimes they disappear, sometimes they don't.
Tavares made it clear he was fine, he was pulled off and Tavares said he was told to get off the bench.
It pisses me off, he was gone at the time they needed him the most, without him they were awful.
Is it easier to pull someone off protocol if he's on the visiting team? Does Brady Tkachuk miss half of an integral part that could have gotten you eliminated? All I know is that sometimes they disappear, sometimes they don't.
Tavares made it clear he was fine, he was pulled off and Tavares said he was told to get off the bench.
It pisses me off, he was gone at the time they needed him the most, without him they were awful.
A furious Kypreos has a point, and it feels like the Senators were in cahoots with the training staff to keep Toronto's best player on Saturday away from the ice. While that's certainly Paul Bissonnette levels of tinfoil hat talk, it does seem a bit egregious.
The protocol states that the following are the criteria for determining a concussion:
If any of the following visible signs occurs after a direct blow to the head or a blow to the body that causes acceleration/deceleration of the head («indirect blow to the head»), the Club shall remove the Player from the playing environment and escort the player to a distraction-free environment for an acute evaluation:
a) «Lying Motionless on the Ice»: A Player lies motionless on the ice or falls to the ice in an unprotected manner (i.e., without stretching out his hands or arms to lessen or minimize his fall) or exhibits tonic posturing/impact seizure.
b) «Motor Incoordination/Balance Problems»: A Player staggers, struggles to get up or skate properly, appears to lose his balance, buckles, trips or falls, exhibits slow/labored movements or stumbles while getting up, trying to get up, or skating.
Medical Handbook 3.1
c) d) «Blank or Vacant Look»: A Player has a blank or vacant look.
«Slow to Get Up»2: Except as noted in section III(2) below, Player is slow to get up
following any of the below mechanisms of injury:
a blow to the Player's head or upper torso from another Player's shoulder;
the Player's head makes contact with the ice;
the Player is punched in the head (including any part of his face) by an ungloved fist during a fight.
a) «Lying Motionless on the Ice»: A Player lies motionless on the ice or falls to the ice in an unprotected manner (i.e., without stretching out his hands or arms to lessen or minimize his fall) or exhibits tonic posturing/impact seizure.
b) «Motor Incoordination/Balance Problems»: A Player staggers, struggles to get up or skate properly, appears to lose his balance, buckles, trips or falls, exhibits slow/labored movements or stumbles while getting up, trying to get up, or skating.
Medical Handbook 3.1
c) d) «Blank or Vacant Look»: A Player has a blank or vacant look.
«Slow to Get Up»2: Except as noted in section III(2) below, Player is slow to get up
following any of the below mechanisms of injury:
a blow to the Player's head or upper torso from another Player's shoulder;
the Player's head makes contact with the ice;
the Player is punched in the head (including any part of his face) by an ungloved fist during a fight.
If you were to see the Tavares hit, he could classify under the 'Balance Problems' portion of the protocol, but 90% of the time, a player can get rocked and then takes a moment to sit on the bench; they don't just get yanked for half a period.
It's unknown if the Maple Leafs have their own medical team, but if not, they would have had the Senators team doctors taking a look as opposed to their own, and in conjunction with the NHL spotters; could lead to a mismanaged situation.
But it doesn't change the fact that Tavares was gone for half of the most important part of the game, and if he had been allowed back within a couple of minutes, who knows what the results could have been?
More than likely it was a Toronto sweep.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 29 | 354 ANSWERS NHL Insider Slams NHL Over Handling of John Tavares Concussion Scare Should the NHL have punished Artem Zub for his elbow to the head of John Tavares? | ||
| Yes | 338 | 95.5 % |
| No | 16 | 4.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
TRENDING NOW
