The day after Rangers defenseman Marc Staal took a puck in the eye, once again igniting the debate over visors and whether they should be mandatory, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly has weighed in on the issue, putting the onus squarely on the players for their own health and safety.
“The league continues to support a rule that would make visors mandatory in NHL games,” Daly told the New York Times in an e-mail. “As you know, it has been the consistent position of the Players’ Association that they are opposed to mandating visor use, that it should be a matter of ‘player choice,’ and that increased visor use by players should be achieved through continued education and sensitization to the dangers associated with non-use. I believe that continues to be the Players’ Association’s position, although I cannot speak for them.”
Even after watching Staal’s injury, Rangers forward Rick Nash was still supportive of a player’s choice to go without a visor.
“I’ve never played a game without one,” Nash told the New York Post. “That being said, I’m not in favor of making visors mandatory.
“I believe it should be your option. Maybe I’m older-school, but we’re playing the highest level of hockey in the world and I just think we should be allowed to make that decision ourselves.”
An update on Staal’s condition is expected sometime today.