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When deputy commissioner Bill Daly presents the NHL's board of governors with a report on concussions at their gathering in Pebble Beach this week, Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher will be listening closely.
With good reason.
To date, Fletcher's team has four players sidelined with concussions -- Andrew Ebbett, Petr Sykora, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Brent Burns.
A number of league executives said they could not remember a single team ever being without the services of that many bodies at the same time due to such serious head ailments.
"I can't recall anything like it," Fletcher said in a phone interview from Minnesota. "It's such a concern. Any time your brain is bruised, it's scary.
"I know when many of the new arenas started up, we had some problems with the seamless glass. But we seem to have made significant improvements since then. (Besides), the last two injuries we had came on open ice hits -- Ed Jovanovski on Ebbett, Steve Ott on Sykora.
"It's something the league has looked at seriously the past couple of years. It will be interesting to see what the research shows, including what type of hits produce concussions and which areas on the rink they occur."
League disciplinarian Colin Campbell will chip in with an update on headshots.
COYOTE UGLY
Interesting that Ice Edge Holdings LLC, the group that inked a letter of intent to purchase the Phoenix Coyotes from the NHL, reportedly has interest in welcoming Wayne Gretzky into the fold.
With Gretzky not thrilled with the whole Coyotes bankruptcy mess, No. 99's potential inclusion as coach of Canada's entry in the upcoming world championship this spring under GM Mark Messier, his former Edmonton Oilers teammate, could be more likely.
Ice Edge will be a heated topic among the governors tomorrow and Wednesday, with some preferring to see another team in Canada, whether it be Quebec City, Winnipeg or southern Ontario, which is said to be a popular choice.
MILESTONE MEN
The weekend featured career goal No. 400 for Ottawa Senators forward Alex Kovalev, courtesy of a hat-trick, and the 300th NHL goal for Patrik Elias, who is closing in on John MacLean for top spot on the New Jersey Devils' all-time goal list.
Meanwhile the New York Islanders' Robbie Schremp, a kid who has struggled since being picked 25th overall by the Edmonton Oilers in 2004, scored his first NHL goal against the Boston Bruins Saturday.
For the record, that's 106 fewer goals than Anaheim Ducks sniper Corey Perry, Schremp's former teammate with the London Knights.
NHL ROYALTY
You are Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi. You woke up yesterday to discover your team, one of the NHL's sad sacks not so long ago, is tied for top spot in the Western Conference at 45 points with the suddenly free-falling San Jose Sharks, the club you ran before being replaced by Doug Wilson.
Life certainly is good in Mr. Lombardi's world these days.
A huge key to the Kings' meteoric rise up the standings can be attributed to their success in the shootout. Los Angeles has reeled off six consecutive shootout victories.
CROSS CHECKS
Detroit Red Wings F Todd Bertuzzi has scored back-to-back OT winners ... Kings F Ryan Smyth is expected to return Dec. 26 against Phoenix ... The Sharks are hoping the injury to D Dan Boyle Saturday is not too serious. Boyle slammed into the boards after colliding with Coyotes F Taylor Pyatt at the final horn of the 2-1 Phoenix victory. You can bet Team Canada executive director Steve Yzerman also will be closely monitoring Boyle's status.
MIKE.ZEISBERGER@SUNMEDIA.CA