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Well its finally happened. Jonathan Ogden Jersey . Ten retired players are suing the NHL in a class action lawsuit alleging that the league didnt do enough to protect their brains. Gary Leeman, Rick Vaive, Brad Aitken, Darren Banks, Curt Bennett, Richie Dunn, Warren Holmes, Bob Manno, Blair Stewart and Morris Titanic retained the law firm Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White and filed their lawsuit on Monday. This lawsuit is not a surprise, and most certainly is not a surprise to the NHL. The league is run by lawyers (Gary Bettman and Bill Daly) and its likely they have been anticipating a court action for some time. When I interviewed Bill Daly on my radio show in May of this year, I asked him if the league was concerned about the possibility of a concussion lawsuit like we saw in the NFL. This was his response: "Certainly, were aware of them, and aware of the industry in which we operate. You have to be cognizant of whats going on around you. Im a lawyer by training, so I follow legal developments and certainly thats a legal development...Having said that, I dont think litigation per se can direct your business strategy. I think its similar to what we were talking about before. You have to do what is right. Obviously, we feel there is an obligation on the part of the league office to make the game as safe as it can be without changing the culture of the game. Part of the attractiveness of our sport as an entertainment product is the contact nature of our sport. You dont want to take contact out. At the same time, if you can minimize injuries and make it safer for the players, you try to do that." On to the lawsuit. The key allegation raised by the players is concealment. The players are arguing that the league knew of the long-term neurological impact of repeated headshots and elected not to share that information with the players. By not revealing that information, players did not have an opportunity to make an informed decision about playing in the NHL. So the focal point of this lawsuit has less to do with the players knowing the risk, playing and complaining after the fact. Rather, the pivotal issue is whether the league concealed information. Do the players have a case? That is tough to say since everything turns on the evidence. However, this is not an easy lawsuit for the players. They will have an number of hurdles to overcome. First is the issue of causation. In order to get paid, the plaintiffs like Vaive and Leeman are going to have to show that the brain damage they suffered was caused at the NHL level. On the flip side, the NHL will point out that no one can say for sure what caused a players neurological condition, and even if it was caused by repeated headshots while playing hockey, how much of that damage was sustained while in the NHL and not in places like the AHL, WHL or Europe. So what caused the damage and when it was caused become critically important issues. Leeman played about 660 regular season NHL games. He also played 357 games outside the NHL. Will he be able to make a convincing case that even if the NHL concealed information, his neurological impairment was caused at the NHL level? What kind of chance does Warren Holmes have of proving the NHL caused his damage when he only played 45 regular season NHL games while playing in 737 games outside the league? And what about Morris Titanic, who played just 19 NHL games. The league will also take the position that it didnt conceal any information. Rather, they will argue that there wasnt any conclusive science at the time and they had the same information the players had. Basically, they will say we knew what you knew. That being the case, the league will then maintain that the players were aware of the risk associated with playing hockey based on the science at that time, and agreed to those risks each time they stepped onto the ice. This legal principle is called informed consent (which makes sense since thats a nice way to describe it). The NHL could also argue that this lawsuit doesnt belong in court in the first place, but rather should go to arbitration. The collective bargaining agreement provides that issues of player health and safety go to arbitration and not court. On the flip side, the players could take the position that since this case involves fraud, it properly falls outside of arbitration and within the jurisdiction of the courts. So the bottom line is this: the players will need to provide good evidence showing that the league concealed the harmful impact of repeated headshots. If they dont have that evidence, they will have a very difficult time. On top of that, they will need to deal with the very tricky issue of causation. As far as next steps, it would not be a surprise to see more players join the lawsuit. Indeed, Vaive, Leeman and the other eight plaintiffs will not want to stand alone as there is strength in numbers. They will also look to make splash with a big name player. Ultimately, their goal may be settlement that provides players with some level of monetary relief very much like we saw in the NFL concussion lawsuits. In that case, the sides settled for about $765 million (however, the settlement has not yet been approved by the Court and any player has the option to opt out of the settlement and file his own lawsuit). On the NHL side, the league may look to have the lawsuit kicked out of court on the basis that it doesnt belong in court but rather at arbitration. This lawsuit is just starting and there is still a lot of ground to cover. Stay tuned. Crockett Gillmore Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. Kenneth Dixon Jersey . Leverkusen said on Friday it signed Schmidt on a two-year contract. He guided Red Bull Salzburg to the Austrian championship this season. http://www.cheapravensshoponline.com/Youth-Maxx-Wi...ns-Jers ey/ . Maximilian Arnold put Wolfsburg ahead in the eighth minute, when the stationary Fallou Diagne allowed him to guide Patrick Ochs cross beyond the helpless Freiburg goalkeeper, and Ivica Olic doubled the lead three minutes later after Luiz Gustavo did well to set him up.HAMILTON - Playing their third game in as many days, the Hamilton Bulldogs salvaged their weekend with an energetic, 60-minute effort on Sunday. Martin St. Pierre scored two goals, including the game winner in the second period, as the Bulldogs snapped a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the San Antonio Rampage in the American Hockey League. "Travelling has been hectic this weekend, but were not a team that makes excuses," said St. Pierre. "If we lose while were working hard, well take the loss. We felt that we played well this weekend and just didnt get the bounces. "We knew that it has to be mind over matter when you have three games over two and a half days." Mike Blunden also had a goal for the Bulldogs (23-25-5) and Dustin Tokarski made 32 saves. Quinton Howden scored the lone goal for the Rampage (23-23-8), while Jacob Markstrom stopped 28 shots in a losing effort. Hamilton got off to a promising start, challenging Markstrom early and often in the first period. Offensive pressure paid dividends when the Bulldogs opened the scoring through their captain at 7:25. Greg Pateryn carried the puck in from the blue line and released a low, hard shot toward the far post that Markstrom kicked into St. Pierres path as he streaked in from the left wing. St. Pierre reacted quickly and fired the puck past the sprawling goaltender before he could recover his position. The Bulldogs lead nearly doubled three minutes later, when Sven Andrighetto threaded a centring pass through the San Antonio defence that found Maxime Macenauer in the low slot. But Markstrom slid to his right and snared the centres ensuing wrist shot with his glove. Hamilton head coach Sylvain Lefebvre was encouraged by his teams strong start, and argued that it had become a recent trend. "The one thing that stood out this weekend was that we started all three games very strongly," said Lefebvre. "Tonight, we stuck with it and kept going." A bright first period was dimmed sommewhat when the Bulldogs were assessed two minor penalties at the same stoppage of play at 19:26, as Gabriel Dumont was called for unsportsmanlike conduct after arguing a slashing penalty to Blunden. Justin Tucker Jersey . . The exchange meant that Hamilton would have to survive 1:11 of 5-on-3 hockey early in the second period. Those penalties passed without incident, but the Rampage made the most of their next power-play opportunity when Louis Leblanc was whistled for hooking at 7:10 of the second period. Tokarski knocked aside Ryan Martindales initial shot from the slot with his blocking glove, but the forward recovered his rebound and chipped a quick shot that Howden tipped past the goaltender at 8:06. Markstrom was tested several times as the Bulldogs pushed for a second goal, and came up with consecutive saves to deny St. Pierre and Sven Andrighetto in quick succession midway through the period. But there was little that he could do to prevent the eventual breakthrough, as Nathan Beaulieus point shot rebounded high into the air, and St. Pierre was waiting as it dropped to slide it past the goaltender at the near post at 12:15. The Bulldogs added some insurance on the power play at 6:29 of the third period. Markstrom turned aside Nick Tarnaskys initial shot, but Mike Blunden was posted in the low slot and corralled the rebound, easily slotting it past the goaltender. Hamilton successfully crowded Markstroms crease on Sunday, and Lefebvre stated that the Bulldogs will have to continue that tactic in the future. "We need to do that," he said. "We dont score too many highlight-reel goals. We grind them out, and thats our trademark. Thats who we are. "Some nights we dont want to pay the price as much and it shows. But this weekend we did, and we competed all weekend." The Bulldogs went 1-4 with the man advantage, while the Rampage were 1-3. Note: The Montreal Canadiens announced the call up of Hamilton defenceman Jarred Tinordi midway through Sundays game. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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