You just had to know that talk of mandatory throat guards was going to come up sooner rather than later.
After watching Richard Zednik throw his gloved hand to his throat Sunday night in Buffalo and skate to the Panthers' bench in a race for his life, it was inevitable this debate would begin.
Over the weekend, NHLPA union leader Paul Kelly announced the players would not endorse heated blades that seemed destined to take the hockey world by storm four months ago.
Now Kelly may want to initiate a movement that would lead to mandatory use of throat guards for his charges. Like helmets, don't give players an option.
Call the scary incident with Zednik what you want. A freak accident. Wrong place, wrong time. Bad luck.
Whatever it was, it was damn frightening.
Judging by the crowd's reaction to Zednik getting cut, I would assume most in Buffalo that night feel the same way.
I've played this game, watched this game, all my life and, like most, have seen more than my fair share of broken bones and stretchers being wheeled onto the ice. But the two most lasting memories I have, at least on a grotesque scale, are Sunday's incident and the sight of goaltender Clint Malarchuk getting his jugular cut 19 years ago.
All things being equal, I'm shocked this type of thing doesn't happen more often. When you consider there are usually 12 sets of skates on the ice at any given time, it's amazing the law of averages hasn't caught up with the NHL.
As a young goalie, I used to wear a turtleneck that had a built-in throat protector. My fear was getting caught with a slapshot that would get up and under my plastic throat guard, and I always had this nightmarish thought of struggling for breath right on the ice. Looking back, that guard wouldn't have done much in preventing a slap shot from doing some serious damage to my larynx, but it probably would have at least shielded the brunt force of a skate blade.
When Bryan Berard lost an eye to the working end of Marian Hossa's stick eight years ago, the rallying cry began for mandatory visors. And every time a puck or stick clips an eye these days, the advocates rally to make facial protection mandatory, no doubt causing Don Cherry some sleepless nights.
Whether it is trying to portray a tough-guy image or just blind stupidity, there is a certain blinded machoism attached to a being a hockey player. It is part of the package, a trait handed down from generation to generation.
Hockey players don't cry, at least not in public.
Richard Zednik's scary encounter Sunday night proved that the neck area is one of the vital parts of a hockey player's body that needs to be protected. Surely the league could implement a generic throat guard that would be both comfortable and protective.
The NHLPA will probably balk at the suggestion. After all, it was a freak accident. And after all, they're tough.
But a lot of things went right for Richard Zednik two nights ago. That much cannot be debated.
"We all were very lucky (Sunday) night, not just Richard," said surgeon Dr. Sonya Noor of Buffalo General Hospital on Monday.
The next guy may not be as lucky.