NHL Looks To Hit Concussions Hard

22:53

March 14, 2011

After taking a hit from the Bruins' Zdeno Chara, Max Pacioretty had to be removed from the ice on a stretcher. (AP)

Sidney Crosby. Marc Savard. Patrice Bergeron.

Felled by concussions, they're just some of the players hockey fans have had to live without for long stretches this season. Hockey is a brutal sport, and it's viciousness has come home to roost in the form of concussions for some the sport's best players.

Last week, the Bruin's Zdeno Chara ignited even more debate about hockey's safety standards when his bone-rattling hit left the Candiens' Max Pacioretty with a concussion and a broken vertebra. The NHL decided Chara's hit was just part of the game and declined to dole out extra punishment.

Still, Chara became the focus of new NHL controversy: Should the NHL quell the violence on the ice?

NHL general managers started meetings Monday in Florida and while we don't know the outcome just yet, we can be sure that concussions and aggression on the ice will be a topic of conversation.

Guests:

Fluto Shinzawa, Bruins writer, Boston Globe
Matt Kalman, founder, BruinsBlog.net; author, "100 Things Bruins Fan Should Know And Do Before They Die"
Mike Pesca, sports correspondent, NPR

This segment aired on March 14, 2011.