The NHL's new concussion rules won't go over well with some fans.

Big changes coming this season.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 7 years ago
The NHL's new concussion rules won't go over well with some fans.
Keystone Press

The National Hockey League appears to be heading in a direction that will see major changes coming to their concussion protocol for the 2016-2017 NHL season.

According to a report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman the league will put a new official in place that will take the power out of the hands of both NHL teams as well as out of the hands of NHL players when it comes to concussions. From Friedman:

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.

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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.

It's going to be very hard to argue that this is somehow against the best interest and well-being of the players on the ice, but if history is any indicator this will not be a change that goes over well with a large segment of the fan base. 

No word yet on who the four men will be, but one thing is certain, their calls this season will be under a ton of scrutiny.

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