The AHL announced that next season, all players are required to wear visors. So, the AHL catches up with the ECHL, the CHL, and the UHL. Good for them. Here, I’ll repeat that.

GOOD FOR THEM.

I still don’t understand the position taken by so many around hockey. The argument is that since visors, the players sticks have been carried higher, players have been less responsible with the stick, and more injuries have occurred. Because of a piece of PLASTIC. That protects the eyes.

What? That makes no sense at all. Did players decide, now that things are safer, I can be more reckless? Is that a joke?

There are two types of visors: those worn properly, and those that won’t protect shit. All visors can help, if you wear it right, and tighten up your helmet’s chin strap. You can ask Dany Heatley about that. Remember what happened to him in Europe during the lockout? He was wearing a visor, and when he fell, his helmet lifted up, because he had a loose chin strap (which a lot of players do). He took a puck to the eye (area. Didn’t hit his eye directly).

And that’s the other thing. It isn’t just sticks that cause injury. Ask Stevie Y about that, or Don VanMassenhoven, or Mats Sundin. Take a puck in the face, and you’ll wish you had that visor. Shots are harder, from farther away, in traffic, and on and on. Take a puck in the face from a deflection, and it can hurt you pretty bad. Ask any number of fans who have taken a puck to the face in the crowd.

Reality is, it’s not a question of protection, it’s a question of ego. Visors are looked down on because they take away from the “manly” image of the player. Well, the same could be said for Jacques Plante. The taunting and ridicule he had to endure, so he could wear a mask, a piece of equipment we wouldn’t think twice of today, was utterly stupid. And the same stigma is given to visors today.

Here’s how I look at it. If it’s good enough for Joe Sakic, it should be good enough for everyone.