Rival GM of the NY Islanders looking to mandate cut-resistant gear across the league

They may be freak incidents, but there are few things scarier in hockey than an injury from a skate cut. In four months during the 2019-20 season, three NY Islanders were cut by a skateblade, Cal Clutterbuck, and Casey Cizikas.

Clutterbuck experienced a cut to his wrist, Cizikas just above the knee, and Boychuck to a skate to the eye, requiring 90 stitches and essentially ending the defenseman’s career.

A push to require cut-resistant gear in the NHL

In 2016, Cizikas also sustained a cut to his wrist.

Cut-resistant gear, which the NHL doesn't mandate, would be effective in some but not all situations. Looking back to earlier last season, it’s hard to think of a player who opted to wear a neck guard until the death of Adam Johnson, who was killed during an EIHL game after taking a skate to the neck.

In November, Frank Seravlli of Daily Faceoff reported that only 7.7% of NHL players were wearing neck guards, meaning most of the league was willing to take the risk, opting for comfortability.

Now, one NHL GM is pushing the league to make neck guards mandatory for all 32 teams.

Tom Fitzgerald, GM of the NJ Devils has seen his family impacted in a major way, after his son Casey, a defenseman for the Hartford Wolfpack in the AHL, took a skate blade to the neck in December.

Fitzgerald took time at the annual GM meetings in Florida to push his colleagues to mandate cut-resistant gear in the NHL.

"Honestly, we should post these pictures in locker rooms," Fitzgerald said. "I can't look at Casey's neck, but if people see that maybe they go, 'This is serious' or 'I don't want to be this.'"

The AHL does require its players to wear neck guards, but the gear doesn’t cover the entirety of the neck, and still left an open gash close to Fitzgerald’s jugular.

"If you give them options (to not wear protection), they're going to take it,” Fitzgerald said. “They're going to say, 'I haven't worn it my whole life so I'm not going to wear it now,' so don't give them options. We can't do that because that's a collective bargaining issue, but we can show them real-life examples."