Claude Giroux Concussion: The NHL Has to React to This Trend Now

With Tuesday's news that Philadelphia Flyers star Claude Giroux will be out indefinitely with a concussion, it's clear the NHL must react and do something about concussions or the league will lose its best players far sooner than it should.

Just this season alone, many players—including Sidney Crosby, the face of hockey—have missed games due to concussions or recurring symptoms from head injuries.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the following about concussions in a recent ESPN article.

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"Even if it's a legal hit, it can lead to a concussion," Bettman said. "We play a very fast-paced, physical game in a close environment. I think people need to take a deep breath and not overreact. It's important to react and it's something we'll monitor closely."

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Sorry Bettman, you are wrong, the league must react.

The NHL is not just losing players, it is losing star players. Players that make your sport exciting to watch, players that make these teams Cup contenders or just average and players whose careers will possibly end far too soon.

This is a major problem the league must address now. Crosby's importance to the league is well understood, but without him the Pittsburgh Penguins go from Stanley Cup favorites to just another playoff contender. 

Giroux is a superstar in the making and a young player the league could easily market as a household name. He was leading the NHL in points after Monday's games, but now he joins a growing list of players dealing with concussions.

What do fans want, a sport that keeps its current level of toughness and thus puts superstars at risk, or a league that is less physical, thus reducing the chance of head injuries that can end careers way too quickly?

One particular issue in all of this is the NHL's disclosure of head injuries. 

Via The New York Times:

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Under the N.H.L.’s injury-disclosure policy, clubs may not lie about players’ injuries, but they are not obligated to volunteer specifics.

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New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal played with concussion-like symptoms earlier this season and since he did not disclose the information—and because his team did not disclose the information—the league was not able to tell Marc he should not be on the ice, which would have been the right decision for him.

The team's make these decisions, which is wrong. The league needs full information. If a player is suspected of having a concussion, the information must be made known to the league. 

Dr. Paul S. Echlin of London, Ontario said the following about the disclosure policy in the NHL, from the above Times article.

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“When you’re dealing with a serious, life-altering thing like a brain injury, you don’t minimize it,” Echlin said. “It’s a player’s individual right not to disclose. But this not giving the full answer is a difficulty I have with it. If you’re going to go forward with concussion prevention, you have to be honest and open about it.”

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Echlin makes a fine point. The league must receive all information about players who are suspected of having injuries so they can be taken off the ice and examined by a professional.

The only way to help the sport regarding head injuries is to have full disclosure, so the necessary steps can be taken to prevent the number of these injuries.

It's better to be safe than sorry. The league is far better off taking any player who is suspected of having a concussion and doing tests on him, keeping him out a few games and then making a final determination, only allowing players to go back into a game after they have been examined in a quiet room a short while after suffering a big hit.

People love big hits and fighting in hockey, but this love for violence comes at a price. At the end of the day the excitement is fun, but the safety of the players ultimately must come first.

If making the game less violent, less physical and maybe a little less exciting is going to make players a bit more safer, than so be it.

Health comes first.

Follow @NicholasGoss35

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.