from Frank Seravalli of TSN,

Last season, 13 goaltenders sustained 15 diagnosed concussions – as confirmed by their NHL teams and reported by local media sources. That’s the exact same number as the previous three seasons combined.

“I think when you hear numbers like that, it is concerning and it definitely makes you give some thought as to why,” said Kay Whitmore, the NHL’s vice-president of hockey operations and goaltender equipment. “We are taking steps to look into the causes and effects of these [concussions], but a lot is still unanswered. Is this a one-year anomaly? More than that? We have to look into the why.”

Two goalies have already been diagnosed with concussions this season. Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray suffered his second in as many seasons Oct. 8 and Vancouver Canucks prospect Thatcher Demko was injured during the preseason.

The big change seems to be an increase in the number of concussions resulting from shots off the mask. Of the 15 concussions last season, 10 were as a result of shots off the helmet, while two came from collisions. One came from a stick to the mask, one was a result of a backup being hit on the bench without a helmet, and one was unknown (Crawford).

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