Agent: NHLPA doctors got involved to keep Winnik from playing following hard fall

Head injuries are a major concern in today's NHL, and it appears as though the Players' Association stepped up to protect one of its own.

NHLPA doctors intervened in order to keep Maple Leafs forward Daniel Winnik out of two games following a hard fall that led to him being stretchered off the ice during a game in Colorado on Nov. 6, according to agent Pat Morris.

Further to that, Morris revealed there was even talk of Winnik returning for the third period of that game, which, given the seemingly violent nature of the impact sustained in the fall, seems unthinkable.

Winnik returned to the lineup on Nov. 12 following the two-game absence, with zero points and two shots on goal in three games since that time.

While Winnik's desire to play feeds into the romanticizing of hockey players, this issue should raise eyebrows in regards to player safety, and why the Players' Association had to step in to begin with.