Waiving Off Safety

It's hard to believe that, when looking at Craig MacTavish, that he was the last of his kind in the NHL. There were a dwindling number of players who opted to play without a helmet in the 1990s which, to me, seems insane when you consider some of the guys who could hammer a puck such as Al MacInnis, Al Iafrate, and Brett Hull. While it seems the NHL somehow avoided any major incidents with these guys who opted to play without a bucket, this idea of allowing players to play with protective equipment seems foolish in today's day and age. In saying that, would you believe me if I told you that the number of players who signed the waiver to exempt them from wearing a helmet was much, much larger than the handful of players you may remember?

The NHL mandated on August 8, 1979 that any players who signed his first pro contract after June 1, 1979 will have to wear a helmet. Any players who had signed his pro contract before that date and who had signed a waiver was allowed to play without helmets. A statement from the NHL and NHLPA stated, "Seventy percent of the N.H.L. players wore helmets during the 1978‐79 season."

I foreshadowed the number of players who signed the exemption above, so let's take a look at the names who decided that playing without a helmet was better than playing with one.

This is Page One of the list. The notable names on the list include Brad Marsh, Bill Clement, and Gary Unger (Atlanta); Jean Ratelle, Terry O'Reilly, Rick Middleton, Gerry Cheevers and Brad Park (Boston); Tony McKegney, Rene Robert, and Rick Martin (Buffalo); Doug Wilson, Keith Magnuson, and Tom Lysiak (Chicago); Wilf Paiement and Don Saleski (Colorado); Peter Mahovlich (Detroit); Wayne Gretzky(!), Dave Semenko, and Blair MacDonald (Edmonton).

Page Two continues with more teams and names.

Names on this page that stand out include Dave Keon and Rick Ley (Hartford); Murray Wilson and Bert Wilson (Los Angeles); Dino Ciccarelli, Gilles Meloche, and Bobby Smith (Minnesota); Guy Lafleur, Bob Gainey, and Larry Robinson (Montreal); Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Billy Smith, and Denis Potvin (NY Islanders); Phil Esposito and Ron Duguay (NY Rangers); Bobby Clarke, Rick St. Croix, and Reggie Leach (Philadelphia); Randy Carlyle, Greg Millen, and Greg Malone (Pittsburgh).

We continue into Page Three.

Quebec only had two players who filled out the waiver in Walley Weir and Blair Stewart, so congratulations to the Nordiques on having the team with the most buckets. Notable players off this page include Mike Liut and Bryan Maxwell (St. Louis); Walt McKecknie and Ian Turnbull (Toronto); Glen Hanlon, Stan Smyl, and Harold Snepsts (Vancouver); Peter Scamurra and Pierre Bouchard (Washington); Bill Lesuk, Bobby Hull, and the hand-written Hilliard Graves (Winnipeg).

You may have noted that I italicized a number of names above. Those are goaltenders who signed the exemption waiver so they didn't have to wear helmets. I'm almost certain there was some confusion about goalies wearing helmets with the handful of names on the list who played the position, but it's interesting to see seven big-name goalies wanting to be exempt from wearing a helmet.

I found it weird that Wayne Gretzky's name was on the list for the Oilers when the superstar had worn a helmet in the WHA with the Indianapolis Racers, and continued to do so once he reached the NHL. Gretzky never played without a helmet, so it's hard to wonder how or why he'd sign the exemption when he had never played sans bucket. I guess he was keeping his options open?

There are a pile of guys who remained without a helmet, but the one guy's name who isn't on the list is the aforementioned Craig MacTavish. MacTavish was a member of the Boston Bruins in 1979-80 as well as playing for the AHL's Broome Dusters (yes, for real), but he was coming out of the University of Lowell in 1978-79. Perhaps the Bruins never thought to include him on the list as he was required to wear a helmet in university? They just figured he'd keep wearing one?

In any case, this is an interesting list of guys who wanted to opt out of wearing a helmet. Some guys certainly did as Doug Wilson, Randy Carlyle, and Brad Marsh all played into the 1990s without wearing buckets, but it's good to see that the vast majority of theses guys came around and donned a helmet at some point in their careers.

The old NHL? It was wild, man.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!