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The New Jersey Devils did not wear helmets during warmup ahead of their game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. Ed Mulholland / Imagn Images
NHL teams can expect to hear from the league about rules that require players to wear helmets during warmups after three teams took to the ice helmetless over the last week.
“We intend to send a reminder to all Clubs as to the applicable rules as they apply to the use of helmets in warm-up,” deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in an email to The Athletic Tuesday.
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Daly did not elaborate on when or how the notice will be sent to teams.
New Jersey Devils players traded their helmets for caps during warmup before their Monday night game against the Columbus Blue Jackets in Newark, N.J. The hats read “1,000 Dilly” to commemorate defenseman Brenden Dillon’s 1,000th NHL game.
Last week, the Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks ditched their helmets for warmups before games against the Golden Knights in Las Vegas. Only goaltenders Alex Nedeljkovic and Yaroslav Askarov wore protective headgear.
Sharks forward Will Smith described it as “a team decision.”
“It was Saturday night in Vegas, so all the guys were pretty easy (to sell on it),” Smith said.
The Senators decided at a team dinner the night before their Nov. 26 game.
“It was just a little discussion over a team dinner last night,” Senators defenseman Jake Sanderson said during a TV interview the night of the game. “We’ll see if it happens in the future.”
The NHL would prefer that it not.
The league mandated helmets in warmups during the 2023-24 season. The rule applies to any player who joined the league during or after the 2019-20 season.
Aside from the traditional rookie lap, in which a player appearing in his first NHL game takes to the ice for warmup first and skates a lap around the rink before others join, the NHL frowns upon violation of Rule 9.6. That rule states that “it is mandatory for all players who entered the NHL beginning with the 2019-2020 season or later to wear their helmet during pre-game warm-up. To be clear, all players who entered the League prior to the 2019-2020 season and who are currently playing are exempt from this mandate.”
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An award-winning sports journalist, Rob Rossi has reported on the Pittsburgh Penguins and National Hockey League since 2003. He has covered almost 2,000 NHL games, including over 150 in the playoffs and four Stanley Cup Final series. He also has covered two Super Bowls and multiple MLB All-Star Games. He spent 14 years on the executive board of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. He joined The Athletic in October 2018, and co-founded its Mental Matters resource group. Follow Rob on Twitter @Real_RobRossi
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