from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,
As the National Football League takes heat for how Cam Newton’s medical situation was handled during its opening game of the season Thursday night, news is leaking about changes to the National Hockey League’s own concussion protocol.
For the 2016-17 season, four independent trainers (called “Central Spotters”) will be monitoring all NHL games via television. If they see “visible signs” of a concussion, they will send word to the team that their affected player must be removed from the game.
According to one source, the league plans to release full details shortly before the start of the regular season. From what I understand, all four independent spotters have hockey backgrounds but none are currently affiliated with an NHL club.
There will still also be team-affiliated spotters in every building.
There is no question this move is in response to the fallout from the Dennis Wideman suspension. Wideman was punished for cross-checking linesman Don Henderson in January, less than 10 seconds after receiving a huge hit from Nashville’s Miikka Salomaki.
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