Chris Pronger out of play over eye injury; visor debate heats up – NHL News
Philadelphia Flyers Captain and defenseman Chris Pronger is likely to be out for 10-14 days according to Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren after taking a stick to his right eye during Monday night’s match against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The incident occurred over a loose puck in the circle which had rebounded off Flyer’s goalie Sergei Bobrovski in the first period. When Mikhail Grabovski of Toronto slapped the puck, his stick connected with Pronger’s and the blade shot up straight into the Flyer’s Captain’s face leaving him in agonizing pain. Pronger was taken out screaming in pain from the rink and since he wasn’t wearing his visor the stick hit just outside his right eye.
Pronger did not make the trip to Montreal to face the Canadiens and will be confined to bed rest. The Philadelphia General Manager Holmgren told reporters, "He had a little bit of a cut just on the outside of his right eye, The eye doctor checked him out thoroughly, and he's got a little bit of an issue right now with his eye.”
The Flyers sorely missed their defensemen and Captain during Wednesday’s match against the Montreal Canadiens as a struggling Montreal side ran out 5-1 winners from the encounter ending their worst start to a season for 70 years.
The incident has led to heated debate within the NHL on player visors and should it be made compulsory for them to wear it. Flyer’s General Manager hinting at only letting Pronger return with a visor with backing from Flyers doctors who would refuse to clear Pronger without the visor. Toronto Maple Leaf General Manager Brian Burke also supports Holmgren’s position on the visor issue when he told reporters that defensemen at the least should wear mandatory visors since they face the greatest threat from a loose puck or getting facial injuries with sticks.
“Visors should be mandatory for all defensemen, at the least,” Burke told the Toronto Globe and Mail. While GM of the Anaheim Ducks Burke witnessed Jordan Smith lose an eye after taking a hit from a deflected puck.
Visors except for the NHL are mandatory in all other levels of hockey and are essential for players who want to avoid facial injuries like the one that took out Pronger nearly blinding him in the right eye. Roughly 2/3rd of NHL players use visors while many opt out for various reasons ranging from they get foggy and blur vision to the concept that only soft players wear visors.
The debate is likely to gather steam as Pronger recovers and other NHL players provide their input into making visors mandatory. Most players especially the forward three will go against mandating visors and the NHL will have to take all stake-holders on board the decision so that scenes such as those which occurred during the Philadelphia Flyer’s vs Toronto Maple Leafs do not happen again and players vision and safety is ensured during the game.
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