NHL Allows Players to Wear Sunglasses During the Winter Classic

"In a bid to improve safety players from the Chicago Blackhawks and Washington Capitals will be allowed to wear sunglasses for the first time during the [Winter Classic, which is played outdoors]. The Classic has been delayed twice by weather since the inaugural game in 2008 with rain postponing play in 2011 and sun causing issues a year later." That's the word from Big Pond. Read more.

Should NHL Players Wear Visors?

Eye injuries in the NHL would decline fourfold if players wore visors, according to a recent study.  Furthermore, the study found that eye injuries over the last 10 seasons have cost the NHL and its associated franchises more than $32 million in missed games. While eye injuries have ended careers, visors remain optional for NHL players. This is the first study to examine the mechanism of injury, the incidence of eye injury across multiple seasons, and to calculate the associated financial loss.  The researchers, based at the University of Toronto and Harvard Medical School, examined data from The Sports Network (TSN) and The Hockey News annual visor survey over the last 10 seasons from 2002 to 2013 in the NHL.[i] They found that the 149 eye injuries identified to have occurred in the study's timeframe cost the NHL more than $32 million in missed games. In addition, the risk of eye injury is 4.23 times higher for players who do not wear a visor. The study also found that the majority of eye injuries are caused by being hit by the puck or struck by a high stick (37 percent and 28 percent, respectively). Only 18 percent of eye injuries were caused by a fight or scrum, while the researchers could not identify the cause of injury for 17 percent of eye injuries. Additionally, players without visors had a more aggressive style of play, measured by penalty minutes, hits and fights in a case-control study. There was also a weak, but positive correlation between eye injuries and penalty minutes. Read more.