NHL testing curved glass to replace padded corners at team benches

With the specter of Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty hovering, the National Hockey League is working on ways to make rinks safer by removing sharp corners where glass panes meet at team benches.

The solution is on display at the NHL Research, Development and Orientation camp this week ? curved glass, replacing traditional padded turnbuckles and metal stanchions.

The goal, NHL facilities operations manager Dan Craig told NHL.com, is to have the curved sections in place in every arena before the 2011-12 season.

Last season's incident in Montreal became the focal point for safety measures, when Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara rode Pacioretty into the boards. Pacioretty took the brunt of the blow into a corner, where padding couldn't prevent him from being seriously injured. Had the hit taken place elsewhere on the ice, it might not have been as serious.

But because he slammed into the turnbuckle, Pacioretty came away with a concussion and vertebra injury. He is expected to return to the Habs this season.

Other fallout from the incident continues in Montreal, where a police investigation into the incident was turned over to prosecutors this month. It's possible Chara could face criminal charges.

Reacting to the incident, the NHL ordered tests of alternatives to padded corners, which usually are found at ends of team benches and in the sections between them.

"The curved glass came into that area because when we went to a safety engineer he clearly said that termination point is an abrupt end and we can't have an abrupt end," Craig said.

Tests included crash-test dummies, NHL.com reported.

The solution could provide a class system that gives with contact, similar to the way traditional panes do.

"So, if by chance we do have a player hit that curved glass, it collapses about an inch and a half and then comes back into position," Craig told NHL.com. "Not only do you deflect, but you deflect and there is a cushioned impact."

Still, Craig and the league know the plan isn't perfect.

"It's a body contact sport and that's the bottom line, but everything we have done, from the flexible goal pegs that we have to the protective netting that we have, is to protect the players and protect the element of the game," Craig said. "We are trying to minimize the number of instances that we have."

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