Toronto, ON -- The National Hockey League and its Players'
Association have agreed to new rules regarding the implementation of visors.
Beginning next season, all players who enter the league will be required to
wear a visor, while those with at least 26 games of NHL experience to their
credit will have the option on whether or not to attach the extra protection to
their headgear.
The accord was struck following a meeting of the league's competition
committee on Tuesday.
This new agreement is similar to the one made between both sides back in 1979
regarding the use of helmets, where all players who entered the NHL for the
1979-80 season were required to use one and all remaining players were not
required to do so.
In addition, Sportsnet of Canada revealed that the penalty for engaging in a
fight while wearing a visor will be altered.
As reported back in March at the GM meetings, roughly 73 percent of NHL
players wear some sort of facial protection, and every player who has entered
the league has played with some sort of protection before.
The NHLPA said it planned to poll its membership this summer to see if
mandatory visor usage has gained more traction than it did the last time the
subject was broached four years ago.
Back then, only 30 percent of the membership wanted grandfathering of visors,
and that number has jumped significantly according to NHLPA special assistant to
the executive director Mathieu Schneider, who declined to give a specific
percentage. Reports have stated it to be greater than 80 percent at this point.
In other meaningful discussions, the competition committee agreed to test
hybrid icing during the preseason with an option to continue testing in the
regular season; recommended that the depth of nets be reduced by four inches;
have the NHL and NHLPA create a separate committee to investigate the size of
player and goaltender equipment; and subject all double-minor penalties for high
sticking to video review
As is custom, all recommendations and agreements will have to go before the
Board of Governors, who are next set to meet later this month.
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