The NHL remains embroiled in a lawsuit brought against the league by former players alleging that the league deliberately ignored and concealed information regarding the long-term risks of repetitive brain injuries. Many of the documents tied to the case, particularly emails to and from league executives have been unsealed. TSNs Rick Westhead was among the first Da’Quan Patton Jersey to acquire the documents, however they have also been run by the A sociated Pre s and Torontos Globe & Mail newspaper. In addition to the summaries, the Globe & Mail also provided a link to the uploaded files unsealed by the U.S. district court in Minneapolis, According to the AP, 298 documents were unsealed. This was always a po sibility, which the NHL was prepared for. Commi sioner Gary Bettman had this to say when the po sibility of more emails becoming public was raised ( ): “The selective released leaking of documents out of context may cause some people to scratch their heads, a couple of other people maybe to for a brief moment be a little embarra sed about salty language or the like. But I’m very comfortable with our record,” Bettman said then. “I think in terms of us doing our busine s on an ongoing basis and the fact that we have the league to run, I’d prefer these things not be public. They’ll be a distraction at best, but I don’t think they impact the rest of the case.” While they may not nece sarily impact the NHLs day-to-day busine s per se, the emails that include exchanges among executives and conversations with individual team owners, GMs and members of the media raise many questions and often put the league in a negative light. Many of the emails have already been making the rounds on social media and in other publications. While there are still many documents to pour through, here are some of the highlights of what has been publicly made available: Note: Most emails quoted have been edited for clarity, however links to the specific emails exchanged are included . Emails among NHL executives including Gary Bettman have been made public. (USATSI) 1. One particular email exchange is receiving a lot of attention about the NHLs stance on fightings contributions to bigger problems One of the email conversations that has gotten the most attention since they became public is one that involves a series of senior NHL officials including commi sioner Gary Bettman and deputy commi sioner Bill Daly discu sing an article in the Globe & Mail from Sept. 2, 2011 entitled The article came on the heels of the tragic deaths of enforcers Derek Boogaard, Rick Rypien and Wade Belak and raised questions about fightings role in the game. The email chain begins with vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan sending the link to Bettman and Daly. Bettmans response on Sept. 3, 2011: Do you remember what happened when we tried to eliminate the staged fights? The fighters objected and so did the [NHLPA]. Eliminating fighting would mean eliminating the jobs of the fighters, meaning that these guys would not have NHL careers. An interesting question is whether being an NHL fighter does this to you (I dont believe so) or whether a certain type of person (who wouldnt otherwise be skilled enough to be an NHL player) gravitates to this job (I believe more likely). I tend to think its a little bit of both, Daly wrote in response that is receiving particularly close attention. Fighting raises the incidence of head injuries/concu sions, which raises the incidence of depre sion onset, which raises the incidence of personal tragedies. I believe the fighting and po sible concu sions aggravate a condition, Bettman wrote back. But if you think about the tragedies, Colin Jeter Jersey there were probably certain predispositions. Again, though, the bigger i sue is whether the [NHLPA] would consent to in effect eliminate the type of role and player. And if they dont we might try to do it anyway and take the fight (pun intended). They used to take alcohol or cocaine to cope [late NHL tough guy John] Kordic, Shanahan wrote to provide the perspective of a former player. Now they take pills. Pills to sleep. Pills to wake up. Pills to ease pain. Pills to amp up. Getting them online. Dalys email, however, is the one that will get the most attention. It’s a somewhat matter-of-fact statement that is in direct contradiction to what Bettman has said publicly in recent years. Additionally, that is the email that the plaintiffs attorneys appear focused on. While the NFL has recently admitted the link between repetitive trauma in sport and long-term brain disease, the NHL continues to deny the link, insisting that hockey is not football, Michael Cashman, one of the lawyers representing the ex-NHL players, . Contrary to those public denials, this internal email from senior NHL executive Bill Daly to commi sioner Bettman acknowledges the link between head injuries, depre sion and personal tragedies. 2. Emails from senior NHL officials could create some challenges for the league in terms of public perception One of the early emails to go under the microscope is one from NHL senior vice president of communications Gary Meagher the NHL has never been in the busine s of making the game safer at all levels and we have never tried to sell the fact that this is who we are. That was in response to the CEO of a market research company that was hired to take a survey about fan perception between the NFL and NHL. Meagher noted that the NFL had put money into selling to the public they were all about safety. He called it smoke and mirrors. This is another email that the attorneys for the plaintiffs appear poised to target, based on Chase Ketterer Jersey Cashmans comments to TSN. Aside from that, NHL vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell has made a multitude of comments in emails that are sure to be embarra sing and potentially problematic for the NHL. In an email to ex-player, coach, GM and current media personality Mike Milbury, , Lets face it Mikewe sell rivalries, we sell and promote hate and when a player hits another player legally we cant drill him because hes a king rat! One of the chief concerns raised by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit is the NHLs promotion of violence as part of their busine s. Other emails reflect poorly on Campbell as someone in an executive position like he is. There is one such email where Campbell refers to trainer Gerry Townend as an after Townend raised concerns about the handling of concu sions in an email to Dr. Ruben Echemendia that was forwarded to the NHL execs. In a reply to then- GM Ray Shero asking about a hit on , Campbell sent a condescending response expre sing Letang should There are several emails where Campbell laments the position injured players have put themselves in prior to hits, so the keep your head up line comes up a lot. In an email to TSNs Bob McKenzie, Campbell refers to GM Doug Wilson as while talking about a hit by forward on Jonathan Cheechoo that went unpunished. Campbell also said he asked why Wilson the Sharks didnt referring to Perry. There are more like these examples as well. Oddly enough, there is also an where Campbell says he is thinking about coming out against fighting or taking a stance to significantly scale it back. That stance appeared to change over time. Another correspondence that doesnt look so great is , to executives including Campbell, Meagher and Kris King, another VP of hockey operations. In it, Murphy stre ses that he feels the league is getting over doctored and have been listening to too many experts who havent been on the field of play. Not wanting to listen to a doctors opinion because they never played the game is beyond bizarre. The bad news for the NHL is there are a lot more emails like these now available to the public. Many of them may not harm the league in a legal sense, but the court of public opinion is quite different. 3. Former VP of Player Safety Brendan Shanahan urged the league to be a leader on the future of fighting. Emails show that on multiple occasions, Shanahan wanted the NHL to take the lead on altering fighting rules. Days after Wade Belaks death, Shanahan sent the following email to Bettman, Daly and Campbell: Shanahan after Wade Belaks suicide: “it goes back to concu sions + action to curb fighting the right thing to do” Travis Hughes (@TravisSBN) Shanahan wants the NHL to be first on strengthening rules against fighting and while he doesnt outright say it, what he wants to do effectively quashes the need for enforcers. The NHL would eventually be beaten to the punch on stronger fighting rules by junior hockey leagues throughout the U.S. and Canada. After receiving an email regarding a story about the new rules coming to junior hockey, Shanahan responded once again expre sing his desire for the league act themselves. I believe fighting as a tool or strategy is leaving the game of hockey and we can either lead or follow, . Not so sure how drastic we take the lead if that is what your (sic) suggesting, Campbell replied. Shanahan himself was never one Chris Russell Jr. Jersey to back down from a fight and got himself into trouble on plenty of occasions. The fact he had some of the most progre sive views among this group is interesting. Now that he no longer works for the league, its unclear where this debate stands. 4. Gary Bettmans tone comes off as concerned at times and exceedingly cautious As Cathal Kelly regarding the unsealed emails, Bettman comes off sounding like the lawyer that he is. For the most part he is measured in his responses and occasionally reminds his underlings to be careful on sensitive topics. There are also lines of questioning from Bettman that suggest a deep concern regarding public perception. There arent many statements Bettman makes in his emails that are contradictory to his public stances. The level of concern about the i sues the league is facing, however, is more obvious in the emails than in public. Upon receiving a briefing from Dr. Ruben Echemendia, co-chair of the NHL/NHLPA Concu sion Subcommittee, regarding an interview he gave to Jeff Klein of the New York Times , Bettman responds Not good and expre ses concern about what point the story is trying to make. In an exchange with Shanahan, Bettman says he feels that some of the statements made by NHL executives during various media Tyler Patrick Jersey interviews when it came to the discu sion about taking a closer look at fighting. This is sensitive territory, he added. We need to be very careful. In another email exchange from 2011 between Bettman and owner Geoff Molson, Molson expre ses concern about whether or not lawsuits against the NFL would put the NHL at risk. Molson also expre sed that he didnt think the league was doing enough on head contact. Bettman tried to put those concerns at ease. : As you know, I understand and respect your view. However, for a variety of reasons, I do not believe that we are in the same situation as football and I do not believe the NFL lawsuits should put us at risk. Among other things, we have been the leaders in the area of concu sions and have set the standard on diagnosis, treatment and rule changes at the profe sional level. We should chat. Glad to hear we are unlikely at risk that is (was) my biggest fear, Molson wrote back. However, seeing as we can now read these emails, it looks like those biggest fears have been realized.