"Legal hits to the head"

The NHL, during its recent GM meetings in Florida made a whopper of a statement referring to how they intend to try to prevent TBIs.  Gary Bettman, the league commissioner said "a full 14 percent of N.H.L. concussions are caused by what Bettman called “legal head shots”; i.e., north-south hits to the head that did not specifically target the head."  The time has come to make sure that these hits are illegal as well.  Hits that target other areas of the body and end up hitting the head should be illegal regardless of their ordinal direction.  As stated in the previous post, this is highly subjective and leaves far too much room for interpretations.  I will be very disappointed if the NHL continues to maintain the hard line stance of "it's just a part of the game."  If hockey wants to survive, it had better modernize along with science and medicine.  

I also have to disagree that the team athletic trainer should have no input as to whether an athlete can return to the ice or not.  I understand that the NHL has the resources to have a "neutral physician" examine any athlete that takes a hit, however, it is the AT that spends the most time with the athlete.  The AT can give valuable information to the physician as to the athletes baseline personality and intelligence to aid in the RTP decision.  Taking the athlete away from this resource, into a quiet room away from everybody is a mistake.

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