Posted by Jay Feaster
The topic of the disclosure of player injuries has been debated at general managers' meetings for quite some time. The issue tends to make the agenda either just prior to, or just after, the Stanley Cup playoffs. The league office, and in particular the folks who run the NHL media department, make well-reasoned and impassioned pleas for full disclosure. They note that our fans want the information, and if we are to be taken seriously by the media, we need to provide accurate and timely injury information.
However, the GMs are not sold. While I don't believe that any of my former colleagues think NHL players will consciously set out to hurt another player or make a player's injury worse, the fact remains that we are all highly competitive people who look for any edge or advantage. Moreover, based on the history of our sport, we know that nasty things can happen during the passion of the moment, especially when competing for the Stanley Cup.
As former Lightning captain Dave Andreychuk said recently to the Tampa media, while you don't go out to "target" or intentionally injure a player, if you know he has a bad right shoulder, it is the right shoulder you want to hit while cleanly checking him during a game. If it's a bad wrist, you may give him a quick whack on that gloved part of the body at some point during the game. Players test each other this way all the time; and if the injury is not totally healed or is bothering a player, you may be able to gain just enough competitive advantage to influence the game's outcome. GMs do not want to expose their players to that type of risk.
Another complicating factor for the GMs is the rise in laws and regulations protecting patient confidentiality, coupled with the fact that some players simply do not want the nature and extent of their injuries disclosed to the public. Even a leaguewide mandate insisting on disclosure should not trump the wishes of the player/patient. To the extent we survey each player ahead of time and get his personal preference, we once again run into the issue of uniformity, since some teams still do not comply.
While we realize fans and media may want to know about injuries, we also recognize that there are lots of other things they would like to know, from our trade deadline strategy to whether we intend to make a coaching change. Nonetheless, we do not give the public access to this information (except, perhaps, in very general terms) for a host of competitive and business reasons.
The bottom line: The extent and severity of a player's injury is proprietary business information, and most GMs would like to keep it "club confidential," even if nondisclosure gives members of the press and some fans an upper-body ache.
Jay Feaster served as general manager of the Tampa Bay Lightning from the 2001-02 season until resigning after last season. He is a contributor to ESPN.com.
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