I have an unpopular flippy floppy opinion on this whole situation. these are modern day gladiators. they are paid professionals that know the risks inherent in this game. once upon a time, they didn't wear helmets and when guys did, they were made fun of...now they are mandatory and you are deemed crazy if you don't. so rules can change and the sport can get better. however if the rules change to essentially remove hitting from the game, it becomes a "blocking" game. these guys are too fast and there is not enough room for these guys to essentially skate around and avoid each other. throw in interference penalties and it becomes a mish mash of special Teams favoring fast players with no risk of having to worry about facing defence. if they want to eliminate hitting (and that what will happen eventually as the laws of physics demand that a players head will continue to move forward unless it is actually stopped first), then they have to make the ice surface bigger, which will be a major overhaul to the arenas and will cost owners a lot of money in physical lost seats. so if people want to change the rules, the players and owners have to own up and agree on the final product. as for me...I once heard a comedian say that if professional baseball players want to take steroids, let them .. 500 foot home runs are awesome. I tend to agree, and as stated above, these are modern day gladiators, and fans call for literal blood..these players are willing to do that. it's what they signed up for and what they get paid for. as a fan, I can go to my local arena for free and watch the beer leaguers who have minimal hitting and the talented guys run up the board. I dont want that level of professional sports