Report: GMs want rule regarding headshots changed

NHL general managers would apparently like the league's rule about headshots to be clearer.

As GMs convene in Boca Raton, Fla. next week for the Board of Governors meeting, they could discuss the language of Rule 48, TSN's Darren Dreger noted during Thursday's "Insider Trading" segment.

Rule 48.1 currently defines an illegal hit to the head as:

A hit resulting in contact with an opponent's head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted.

According to Dreger, the controversy relates to the term "avoidable" versus "unavoidable." He notes that Florida Panthers GM Dale Tallon, Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen, and Kevin Cheveldayoff of the Winnipeg Jets are among those who would like the rule to include any type of head contact, whether or not it's avoidable.

The three GMs are pushing to have a penalty assessed in any instance where contact to a player's head is made.