More than one NHL owner cautioned commissioner Gary Bettman about the need to crack down on headshots before the league was sued by former players in 2013.
Emails published this week by The Globe and Mail and later examined by James Mirtle after being unsealed in the ongoing concussion lawsuit show a pair of NHL owners expressing concern about the league's stance on hits to the head.
Nashville Predators chairman Tom Cigarran sent Bettman an impassioned plea after then-Anaheim Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin wasn't suspended for concussing Nashville forward Mike Fisher in October 2011.
"As I have tried to get across, ANY hit to the head MUST be a major penalty and result in a suspension," Cigarran wrote. "We would be the last league to take this position so this is not a RADICAL concept. The cost of our delay is huge in financial terms and in terms of damage to player careers as well."
Cigarran closed his note emphatically:
"The 'it will change the game' or 'we will have our players wearing figure skates' stories show the thinking of the old timers. Our incremental approach to change to mollify them has gone on too long. I intend to bring this up at every owners meeting until the changes are made. Enough is enough."
Bettman's reply was brief:
"We have a rule against head 'hits' but not head 'contact' in conjunction with a 'full body check.' Let's discuss tomorrow," wrote the commissioner.
About two months beforehand, Montreal Canadiens owner Geoff Molson forwarded the commissioner a Globe and Mail column arguing that the NHL could be subject to a concussion lawsuit by former players, in light of a similar case brought forth against the NFL.
"As an owner, the NFL lawsuits could put us at risk," Molson wrote. "Although we are making good progress, I don't think it's enough until any head hit is made illegal. I hope we get there soon!"
In Bettman's reply, the commissioner stated he didn't believe the NHL was "in the same situation" as the NFL and didn't believe the football lawsuits put the NHL at risk, insisting that "we have been the leaders in the area of concussions."
He also told Molson not to worry about potential legal action.
The lawsuit filed about two years later now includes more than 100 former players.
The owners unanimously approved major penalties and ejections for blindside hits to the head in 2010, but the NHL still has no rule banning all headshots.
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