Last Monday in Philadelphia we had a serious incident.
Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger took a stick to the face when Toronto forward Mikhail Grabovski spun around to take a shot on goal not knowing Pronger was standing right were his follow through on the shot would be going.
Pronger immediately grabbed his face after being hit & skated off the ice. The diagnosis on Pronger was blurred vision in his right eye & a cut on his eyelid. Early speculation had Pronger out for 2-3 weeks but as of right now there is no timetable for his return.
The incident brought to mind a similar situation with defenseman Bryan Berard. Back on March 11th 2000 Berard was hurt when the stick of Marian Hossa clipped his face on a follow through shot. Berard suffered a retinal tear & a detached retina of his right eye & came very close to losing it.
Berard would undergo numerous surgeries & would return to the NHL in 2002 with the New York Rangers but he was never the same player. Berard would have stints with three other NHL clubs before calling it a career in 2009.
What do these two incidents have in common? The damage from both could have been minimal if each player was wearing a visor.
Now I know I may be opening a can of worms with the visor debate here as I can find just as many for wearing a visor as against it but for me the call is simple, Visors should be grandfathered in much like helmets were.
Players already wear full face shields at the high school, college, & junior hockey levels. They are accustomed to playing with them on. It wouldn't be much of a transition for a player to go to a visor at the NHL level.
Looking at how the game has evolved since players didn't wear helmets I can't imagine a player not wearing one today. The same should be said with visors. If the NHL is serious about player safety like they say they are then this is a no-brainer.
Let's make this happen before another player loses an eye.
Here is this week's Power Poll.
1. Pittsburgh 8-3-2 18 points
Looks like the earliest Sidney Crosby will return is November 11th and that's not for certain.
2. Edmonton 7-2-2 16 points
When you have been as bad as they have been the last few years and you find yourself on top of the Western Conference you are no worse than number 2 in the Power Poll.
3. Dallas 8-3-0 16 points
11 games in, the transition to the Glen Gulutzan era seems to be going smoothly.
4. Toronto 7-3-1 15 points
Maple Leafs are 0-2-0 on the 2nd half of back to back games.
5. Washington 7-2-0 14 points
Capitals are 2-13-1 in recent trips to Edmonton & Vancouver after losses on two game road trip.
6. Chicago 6-2-2 14 points
Blackhawks are 4-0-2 on home ice this season.
7. Los Angeles 6-3-2 14 points
Good news for the Kings as Drew Doughty is back on the ice.
8. Colorado 7-4-0 14 points
Avs rookie Gabriel Landeskog finished October with 4 goals. One short of the club's rookie record set by Marek Svatos with 5 in 2005-06.
9. Ottawa 7-5-0 14 points
Senators have won six in a row.
10. Philadelphia 6-4-1 13 points
Ilya Bryzgalov is lacking a little confidence right now. Not what you want to hear from a goaltender you signed to a nine year contract.
11. San Jose 6-3-0 12 points
Looking to complete a six game unbeaten road trip tonight in New York.
12. Buffalo 6-4-0 12 points
Thomas Vanek (7G, 7A) off to the best start of his career.
13. Tampa Bay 5-4-2 12 points
Brett Connolly (0G, 2A) is sticking with the Lightning instead of going back to juniors.
14. Florida 6-4-0 12 points
Looking at the moves Dale Tallon has made to the roster this season I get the feeling he is bored & likes to tinker with the roster.
15. Phoenix 5-3-2 12 points
Congrats to Shane Doan on scoring 300 career goals.
16. Vancouver 5-5-1 11 points
Beat Washington 7-4 in what could be a preview of the Stanley Cup Finals.
17. Nashville 5-4-1 11 points
Predators start their annual CMA Awards road trip tonight with a division battle in Chicago.
18. Anaheim 5-5-1 11 points
Ducks have scored one goal in last 156:02 minutes of play.
19. Minnesota 4-3-3 11 points
Josh Harding (36 saves) was spectacular in 1-0 win over Detroit Saturday night.
20. Carolina 4-4-3 11 points
Hurricanes finish with 11 out of a possible 22 points in the month of October.
21. Detroit 5-4-0 10 points
Red Wings have lost four straight since starting the season 5-0. It's still way too early to panic.
22. Montreal 4-5-2 10 points
1st time I have seen an assistant coach take the fall in the NHL for a team's slow start
23. St. Louis 5-6-0 10 points
Now that the World Series is over the people of St. Louis can start paying attention once again to the Blues.
24. New York Rangers 3-3-3 9 points
Sean Avery will be rejoining the team later this week.
25. New Jersey 4-4-1 9 points
Martin Brodeur could return in net as early as this week.
26. Calgary 4-4-1 9 points
Rookie Roman Horak (2G, 3A) a bright spot for a Flames team that has started slow.
27. N.Y. Islanders 3-4-2 8 points
Islanders are winless in their last five games (0-3-2)
28. Winnipeg 3-6-1 7 points
Scored nine goals in a win over Philadelphia last Thursday night. Followed it up by getting shut out in Tampa.
29. Boston 3-7-0 6 points
Milan Lucic could be on the trading block as Stanley Cup hangover continues to linger.
30. Columbus 2-9-1 5 points
Rumor has it Ken Hitchcock could return as coach if things don't turn around soon.
Not only do I agree about visors, I think they should go right to full-face shields! I know they won't do it, but for many of the same reasons you cited, I think they should.
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