from Rick Westhead of TSN,

The National Hockey League says the NHL Players’ Association has repeatedly interfered with its attempts to introduce rules over the past 50 years to limit staged fighting, better safeguard players and bolster penalties for dangerous head hits.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly made the allegations in a sworn affidavit filed in U.S. federal court in Minneapolis late Thursday that relates to a lawsuit filed by former players suing the league over its handling of head injuries and concussions.

In the latest twist in the high-stakes concussion case, the NHL asked the court to not certify the case as a class-action suit. Daly’s affidavit was filed in connection with that request.

If Judge Susan R. Nelson certifies the case, it would mean more than 5,000 former players, and the families of some deceased players, would automatically become plaintiffs in the case, drastically driving up the potential liability for the league.

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