Leon Draisaitl was in pain, very badly. And he was obvious to everyone.
The star center was visibly grappling with an ankle injury during the Edmonton Oilers playoff run last spring.
But as is tradition in the playoffs – and also often during the regular season – the team only claimed that Draisaitl had a “lower body” injury and remained unable to play.
Despite this attempted diversion, the opponents knew very well the nature of the German’s injury, who had to suffer a few hits in the sensitive area.
It was only when the Oilers were eliminated that the severity of the injury was confirmed: a sprained ankle.
In the age of social media and cover art in every respect, it’s hard to keep information secret. Also, with sports betting becoming more mainstream, why is the NHL lagging behind in injury disclosure compared to the NFL, NBA and MLB?
“There is a balance,” NHL assistant commissioner Bill Daly said ahead of the season. There is a balance between being more transparent about a player’s health and putting his health at risk. This balance was established 15 or 20 years ago in favor of protecting the health of players. “
“This is where we are. “
And while Daly added that the Tour’s sports betting partners have not requested changes to injury disclosure to provide bettors as much information as possible, players know that the day fans are aware of any tears, sprains or bruises they won’t. it is necessarily very far.
“If it was up to me, I don’t think people would even know our salaries,” said Max Domi, center of the Chicago Blackhawks. It’s nice to be able to fly under the radar. But I understand that this is the reality of the world today. “
The deals between the league and sports betting sites are part of the hockey-related revenue: the roughly $ 5.2 billion that owners and players split 50/50, according to the collective agreement.
Contracts with casinos or other sports betting sites will only increase this number, but players are concerned about having to disclose any injuries.
“We may have no choice left because of sports betting,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid. But we definitely saw him in the playoffs with Leon’s ankle. She was targeted. “
“It is something worrying. “
Washington Capitals goalkeeper Darcy Kuemper admitted that players should probably be willing to be “a little more transparent” about their ailments.
“It will affect bettors’ decisions, he noted. We will have to live with it and hope that the players have enough respect for each other not to target certain regions. “
Columbus Blue Jackets defender Zach Werenski, however, said a rival will always seek to take advantage.
“You saw it with Draisaitl,” he said. You can tell yourself that it would be nice to do it to increase the revenue of the circuit, but there are really two sides to the coin. I would certainly be mistaken for being too cautious. “
Werenski added that there was nothing wrong with targeting an injured player, as long as it was done by legal means during the game.
“You almost prefer to know nothing to play hard but fair against the player,” said Werenski.
However, Philadelphia Flyers forward Cam Atkinson added that the days of never breaking news are essentially over.
“There are no more secrets,” he said. Even if you are the best friend of a player on another team, regardless of whether he reveals information to you or not, the word will spread quickly. “
“This is the reality of the world today. “
