CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — The Pittsburgh Penguins are exploring options for players to wear neck protection gear, at least for practices, as soon as possible, coach Mike Sullivan said Tuesday.
Adam Johnson, who died Saturday from a cut to the neck during a game in England, played 13 games for the Penguins over the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons.
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Sullivan said he and Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas have discussed possibilities with players and equipment staff as to what could work to provide better protection for players’ necks.
The NHL does not mandate neck protection gear for players. The Penguins’ minor-league affiliates in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (AHL) and Wheeling (ECHL) are mandated to wear protective neck equipment.
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Several Penguins players told The Athletic they are open to experimenting with the neck gear as soon as possible.
“Why not?” Jeff Carter said. “We do it at every other level of hockey. They have socks and wrist (sleeves) made out of (cut resistant) material. We should have already been trying it. Shouldn’t have taken this long or something like this.”
A Penguins source said the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins would also pursue implementing neck protection in some form. An NHL source said other teams are considering putting this in place with their AHL affiliates, and that the league has heard from two equipment manufacturers that have never seen sales so strong and are now restocking.
“I think it’s a personal choice,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “It’s obviously something that can help you. But the thing moves up and down. Maybe it’s not protecting you right where you need to be protected anyways. And if you’re going to put it firmly there, then it really starts to restrict your breathing as you’re playing. It’s tragic. It’s horrific. It’s happened, I think, three or four times now in the last 30, 40 years. I think it’s personal choice.”
A Penguins source said the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins are also pursuing the implementation of neck protection in some form. The Carolina Hurricanes, according to a team source, will make neck protection available to players to try using in practice.
An NHL source said other teams are considering putting this in place with their AHL affiliates, and that the league has heard from two equipment manufacturers that have never seen sales so strong and are now restocking.
(Photo: Joe Sargent / NHLI via Getty Images)