Clearly, the stretchers aren't enough.
Maybe it's going to take a body bag.
Until then, Gary Bettman seems to have more pressing needs.
Never mind the visual of Ottawa Senators forward Dean McAmmond being carted off the ice, another victim of a blatant cheap shot to the head. That can wait.
The first order of business is the regular season getting underway this weekend in England, of all places. Now we get the chance to see how many Brits will call Todd Bertuzzi a tosser.
More good news; the schedule is getting a makeover next year. Expansion may be on the horizon. Players who shoot a puck over the glass will still get a deuce in the box. The new uniforms are spiffy.
Oh, and Mark Bell is gone for 15 games. That will show that lightweight judge in California what he can do with his six months in the slammer.
Now, can the NHL wake the hell up before someone gets killed?
Steve Downie's intentional maiming of McAmmond last night hammers home the point that head shots, whether deemed "clean" or not, have to be outlawed.
Right now.
There is no clean way to headhunt. For every borderline hit at the low end of the scale comes the type of spineless cheap shot we saw last night.
Just ask Tomas Kaberle. Or Patrick Eaves. Or Trevor Letowski. Or Chris Drury. Or....oh, never mind, you get the point.
Studies show NHL players missed more than 750 games with concussions, or related symptoms, a year ago. More alarming is that number is up 40 per cent from the previous season.
A red flag, to be sure. Why is no one listening?
Never mind the phantom hooks and holds. It's time for Bettman to get his hands dirty and deal with some real problems in the league.
He needs to lay down the law.
Downie, a 20-year-old who already has a sullied reputation, should be gone for at least 20 games once he hits the NHL. Probably more. Odds are that won't be this season, but wait until he cracks the Flyer lineup. Until then, let the AHL deal with him.
There is tough hockey, which I applaud, and there are cowardly acts. The difference is obvious.
It's time to send a message.
A message that even punks like Steve Downie will get.
One of these nights, there will be no need to signal for the stretcher.
Instead, they'll need a pine box.
And the NHL will have blood on their hands.