from Rich Westhead of TSN,

As many as 10,000 former NHL players and their family members may pursue court cases against the league, court documents say, alleging it has promoted a culture of violence over the past decades but has failed to established proper rules and protocols for preventing head injuries.

The suggestion that so many former players may sue the league comes in a statement of claim filed this week in Minnesota by Cory Larose, a New Brunswick-born forward who signed as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Wild in 2000 but only played seven games in the NHL with the New York Rangers in 2003.

Larose, 39, played 425 games in the American Hockey League between 2001 and 2009. He now lives in Maple Grove, Minn., after suffering "multiple head traumas during his NHL career that were improperly diagnosed and treated by the NHL. Mr. Larose was never warned by the NHL of the negative health effects of head trauma, and still suffers from the effects of that head trauma."

He is seeking damages of more than $5 million, the lawsuit says.

Larose is the latest former NHL player to sue for concussion-related issues.

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