In the wake of Oilers C Connor McDavid being removed from Sunday night's game against the Wild to undergo mandatory concussion testing, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly yesterday said the league has "no intention of changing the standards that are employed based on the situation in the game or season," according to Frank Seravalli of TSN.ca. The same standard is "expected to be applied evenly to star or scrub, whether it’s a gruesome or harmless looking sequence." McDavid on Sunday "face-planted into the ice without his arms to break his fall." His chin "hit the ice first, but he quickly rebounded to resume and finish the shift." McDavid’s "first instinct was to touch his mouth." By doing so, McDavid "unknowingly triggered a mandatory removal from the game for examination, as outlined" in the NHL’s '16-17 Concussion Protocol. A Central League Spotter watching from N.Y. was "responsible for removing McDavid from Sunday night’s game while working in conjunction with those in the arena." Daly: "It remains a work in progress, but yes, we are comfortable with how the new protocol is working." He added that while the protocol language "may change in the future as the program continues to evolve, no changes are planned currently" (TSN.ca, 12/5).
HIGH-STICKING POINT: In New Jersey, Andrew Gross writes while the NHLPA’s rejection Thursday of the NHL’s Olympic offer "was not surprising, it’s not a great omen for labor peace" in '20. That is when either the league or the union can "opt out of the current CBA." Escrow will be "at the center of negotiations." Devils C Adam Henrique, the team's player rep, said, "It seems, always, to come back to that. There are so many other things that seem minor compared to the escrow. That’s kind of what we always circle back around to" (Bergen RECORD, 12/6).
PLACE TO BE? In Ottawa, Bruce Garrioch reported NHL officials recently visited TD Place to "size up the venue for a potential outdoor game on Dec. 19, 2017" between the Senators and Canadiens to "mark the 100th anniversary of the first NHL game played in Ottawa." Discussions between the NHL, the Ottawa Sports & Entertainment Group and the city are "now taking place to see if a deal can be finalized by mid-January to hold a game at the facility, which will be expanded to 35,000 seats" to host the '17 Grey Cup in November. Senators Owner Eugene Melnyk "threw his support behind an outdoor game at TD Place not long after the federal government rejected a bid to play on Parliament Hill but he will still have to sign off on the deal once the negotiations are done between the NHL, the city and OSEG" (OTTAWA CITIZEN, 12/3).
