A US senator is calling on the NHL to fund research on what he calls “clear links” between sport-induced head trauma and brain disease later in life, the Canadian Press reports.
Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut initially reached out to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman in June to ask where the league stands on the connection between head trauma and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE, the news agency reports.
CTE is a progressive degenerative disease shown to afflict people who have a history of repetitive brain trauma, including blows to the head.
Speaking Wednesday, Bettman suggested the “consensus” among medical experts is that no definitive link exists between concussions and CTE, according to the Canadian Press.
The NHL is facing a class-action lawsuit over its handling of concussions. The suit was filed on behalf of several players.
Alfie honoured
The Ottawa Senators will retire Daniel Alfredsson’s No. 11 jersey on Dec. 29.
“It will be emotional, I’m not afraid to cry. If I do, I’m fine with it. It’s cool,” Alfredsson told TSN. “But I’m pretty sure it will be emotional.”
Alfredsson is the Sens’ all-time leader in goals (426), assists (682) and points (1,108).
Ottawa’s only other retired number is the No. 8 worn by Frank Finnigan, who played for the original Senators in the 1920s and ’30s. The current incarnation joined the NHL in 1992.
