What has the NHL done? I know before their lockout fest they were trying to cut down on concussions and other head injuries.
They've punted addressing the issue in real ways, honestly because the league is low profile enough to fly under the radar and hockey fans are fucking savages to begin with. There have been a lot of smaller moves--just as there have been in the NFL--to reduce concussions, like forcing players with concussion-like symptoms out of the game. But a large part of that is self-regulatory and NHL players are probably less inclined to pull themselves out of a game than players from any other sport. I will say that on a surface level NHL franchises seem to hold players out longer after a concussion of any severity. Much longer really, Alec Martinez has been day-to-day with a concussion since early February and won't be back any time soon despite practicing for the past week or so. Middle of a playoff race, one point back from a spot.
I would also say the NHL is much closer than the NFL in making major landscape changes that could reduce concussions (and general injury risk). The league is going to make rinks larger, reducing hitting (~5 years and probably the biggest possible change close to being a reality). The league is going to ban fighting (~8 years and a significant contributing factor to league wide concussions). The league is probably going to shorten the schedule and reduce B2B scheduling soon. The league has already come down on most large hits and skill players are only going to be protected and emphasized more. And there's a lot more coming.
The big domino will be incorporating international rules that prevent checking as it exists in the NHL, which (combined with bigger ice) drastically reduces the number of plays that can result in a concussion per game. I think we're going to see a big push for bringing that over in some form after fighting is gone (and pretty much everyone on both sides is in agreement that fighting is a matter of time) but it won't be soon. The NFL equivalent would be removing helmets and dropping pad sizes, it becomes a fundamentally different game. But that's the only way to make it a fundamentally
safe game.
But this is still the same league and media that shit all over Eric Lindros for not playing through a Goddamn concussion 15 some years ago.
edit:
Should add that for anyone who hasn't seen the league since the LOCKOUT-lockout the level of violence has decreased pretty much inline with the NFL and the game has changed a LOT. All of that above is from a post-2004 mindset. Basically, here's an eight minute Scott Stevens hits compilation:
And here's the ten best hits of 2014:
Poll
