Daly: Neck protection in NHL 'needs to be looked at'

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league will explore the usage of neck guards following Adam Johnson's death.

"Obviously, something that needs to be looked at," Daly said, per TSN's Pierre LeBrun. "There is no reason we shouldn't be doing everything possible to keep our players safe."

Neck protection is not enforced in the NHL, and very few players, if any, wear them voluntarily. Daly hopes more players will choose to wear them despite having no mandate in place.

Johnson, who played 13 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2019, died while playing with the EIHL's Nottingham Panthers on Saturday after his neck was cut by an opponent's skate in a freak accident.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan said the organization has mandated neck protection for their AHL and ECHL teams and is exploring options for their NHL players to wear neck protection, at least for practices, as soon as possible, per The Athletic's Rob Rossi and Chris Johnston.

Pittsburgh forward Jeff Carter is among players who are open to experimenting with neck protection immediately.

"Why not?" 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."

Neck guards are mandatory in youth hockey in Canada, as well as the OHL and QMJHL. However, they're not mandatory in the WHL, NCAA, or USA Hockey.

The Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins are also reportedly pursuing the use of neck protection in some form. The Carolina Hurricanes will also make neck protection available for players to try in practice.