Eye on the Visor

While the National Hockey League deliberates the pros and cons of requiring players to wear visors for safety's sake, the Los Angeles Kings' players have already made their voice heard as a team.

According to Canadian Press, the team took an informal lockerroom poll and unanimously decided that the wearing of visors should be a personal decision, not a mandate.

"A lot of guys hate them. I used to hate them," Pavol Dimitra told the Los Angeles Daily News. "I almost lost my eye so I started wearing one, but I would still feel more comfortable without it."

In order for the wearing of visors to become a part of the league's rules and regulations, it must get the nod from the players' union. The Kings' dressing room vote carries no weight, but does send a message.

"If I was a GM and I was paying a guy a lot of money, I'd definitely want to make it mandatory," said Kings teammate Craig Conroy. "But as a player, I don't think anyone should be forced to wear one."

The idea to require visors isn't a new one but was brought back to the surface following an injury to the Toronto Maple Leafs' Mats Sundin, who was struck just above the left eye in his team's opening game. Sundin suffered a fractured orbital bone and will be out for 4 to 6 weeks. Sundin said that from now on he will try to wear a visor.

"Definitely when I start playing I'm going to have to wear one for sure and hopefully I can continue it," Sundin told Canadian Press. "That's my goal, for sure."

While I'm certainly one for personal choice in most cases, this is one where I can't agree with the players. Other sports require protective gear - batting helmets in baseball, for example. One would think players would want to maximize their careers, and maximizing safety would help accomplish that. A good compromise would be to grandfather the rule in: force the younger players - many who have already become accustomed to wearing them in youth hockey - to don visors while giving older players the option.