not raising your skates on purpose into another players body/neck should be mandatory.

Why they haven’t been mandatory since Malarchuk is beyond me.

Neckgurds wasn’t the problem. It was buddy doing the donkey kick to Johnson’s beck that did him in.

As someone who has had a wrist cut open by a skate that is far more dull than ones they would use in hockey, they would need a strong material to be able to stop a forceful skate. I've never been cut by anything as smoothly as I have that skate, and it took 5 minutes before I even realized I was cut and it was the blood that alerted me. I do think something needs to be done to prevent accidents like this, but it will not be easy to stop a skate.

Them neck guards cant stop that skate blade. That POS purposely kicked Adam Johnson and should be put in jail.

Rip to a real one… so sad what happened

The worst part about his death in my opinion, is the fact that when his girlfriend was going through his stuff after his death, she found a ring...

We absolutely should. They can be thin and flexible but still protect you

As a kid they were always mandatory. At what point did we decide our necks were strong enough to take a skate blade?

Well ... I guess if opponents come at you with a karate kick to the neck with the obvious intention of severing ones jugular vein with their super sharp skate...... ya neck guards are necessary .

His life wasn't lost, it was taken.

Rest in Peace adam Johnson

Authorities confiscated the skates as evidence. Probably going to prison.

The saddest thing is this happened to a goalie and a high school player before. The goalie survived but the high schooler died. There are also other examples in other places. We need to mandate neck guards. #MandateNeckGuards

I really don't understand why people think neck guards in the nhl are stupid. I used to wear an athletic shirt with a neck guard collar underneath my gear that was extremely comfortable and I hardly noticed it while playing. They keep the players safer and help keep these scary life threatening neck cuts from happening again.

Shit was intentional, that mulingion needs to rot in jail

Farewell even as a capitals fan this is one of the saddest things to happen 😢😢

Absolutely, I’m 12 and USA hockey has not made them mandatory. But after my dad told me that he said that he is making me wear one or I’m not playing hockey

I thought that was the Bill Clinton kid in the thumbnail lmao 💀💀💀💀

Rip Adam Johnson and terribly sorry to mark he really doesn't deserve this conflict

Hockey has been played for over 100 years and this is the first time an incident like this has occurred. It was not a regular hockey play gone wrong. It was a blatant effort to injure. I think this is a knee jerk reaction.

Or just ban and arrest players who kick people in the neck maybe.

Generally, exceptions shouldn't make rules. Countless nhl games have been played with only 3 players having been cut in the neck, and 2 surviving. Whereas guys get hit in the head regularly, so helmets are now mandatory.

My maths teacher Jon fearnley was commenting for the Sheffield team he was shocked but the mad lad got back to teaching straight after still it’s sad that guy died

new fear unlocked

"Lost"?!??? He was MURDERED!!

As a Steelers fan I was there on the night and it was a terrible freak accident. Went to all the tributes too RIP Adam Johnson

I have never watched hockey but I feel so bad for what happened to him. I think the person who did it should be put in jail. R.I.P. to Adam Johnson.

Bye Adam 😢

As someone who was 15 feet away from Adam (I have seoson tickets 3 rows behind the closest penalty box to Adam,.) when it happened I can say it wasn't on purpose MP got hit and lost his balance and when your on skates it's hard to balance. It really pisses me off that people actually think it was on purpose. I see no way they could charge MP for anything without an angry mob of Sheffield fans turning up at the police station.

Tomas Plekanec always wore it!

That was on purpose not an incident no way

How about we just dont let dirty players play hockey? The dude practically kicked him in the neck.

When 0.0001% does 100% neck kicking

I went the the Minnesota Gophers vs Minnesota Duluth game after his passing (Adam played college at UMD) they did a whole tribute for him after the national anthem ❤ RIP Adam Johnson

I’ve heard that the whl has made neck guards mandatory. And last night I went to watch my local echl team play and half the players on the team were wearing neck guards

Why isn't one talking about how dude was kicked on purpose? It was murder. How about doing something about that!

I’m a goalie and I don’t have a big say in this but we should wear neck guards it may not seem tough to but it saves life if it’s not tough to save lives idk what is

I’m from Hibbing Minnesota where he grew up and he was the nicest guy ever😓😓💔

It’s really sad that in todays game, with all of the rules added to protect players that this still happens. We will all remember you Johnson, forever.

RIP❤Just a horrifying incident and prayers go out to his family

R.I.P. Adam

Malmö redhawks in shl had an silent minute for him too as he played there for a bit.

No neck guards. Just arrest the only person that has only ever drop kicked another player.

Bro the kick had have been intentional

Idk about now but couple years ago when I still played I used my skate on my old neck gaurd to see how durable it was. It sliced almost immediately, was expecting more for it being a top tier one

I think everything under Bantam should be mandatory, but upper levels they should be optional but strongly advised

Kicking someone with skates on should be illegal

Is no one gonna talk about the fact that it was murder? It was not an accident, it was murder.

Tough one, it happens but is rare. Seems in this case there was at least some intentionality. When I heard about this, I thought the player must have been on the ice, seeing the video I was shocked.

I wore one for the 15 seasons I played ice hockey and them things are basically for show more than actually being functional cuz it won't stop a puck or stick or skates from hurting or killing someone.

It pissed me off how the guy who did it is not only not charged with manslaughter , but is actually having people feel sorry for him …. That’s like feeling sorry for a drunk driver. No shit he didn’t intend to end a life or even harm anyone. But his reckless decision and behaviour lead to it and it’s HIS fault. Idc how harsh that is. People like that need to be held accountable. I can’t help but think about days before Zegras got hit hard and out of embarrassment he throw his skate up so high it was at the guys head. Nobody even like 14-15 years old who has been playing their whole life like any nhl player , can be hit without throwing their feet up like that. It’s not hard at all to not do it. It comes from flailing like a child out of frustration. If Zegras was held accountable for not caring about somebody else’s life , maybe Adam would still have his as stuff like that is bigger than the nhl. I just don’t think so soon after a star being penalized heavily for a stupid act , would that guy do the same thing. I just hate how backhanded todays world is.

Rest in peace my man. Despite being a kraken/silvertips fan, this hurts a lot. Rest in peace man. Know you have now made the first step of making the NHL a safer league to play in.

Why are people obsessed with forcing grown men to protect themselves? You wanna wear it wear it, if you don’t you don’t.

May he rest in peace ⚰️🪦🕊️

Wore one for the first time during my beer league game last night. Didn’t even notice it till I was back in the locker room

I was born in 2003, I’ve worn a neck guard for every single hockey game I’ve ever played in. I will never EVER decide to remove it unless it is restricting my ability to breath; then I’ll need a bigger neck guard. Just last year I was playing in Coquitlam and I got cross checked in the throat, if I didn’t have my neck guard I don’t think I would have been able to play for a while. It seems so stupid to me that professionals don’t wear them at all, when I first saw the Malarchuck incident in Buffalo from a highlight reel, it made me even more confused as to why players wouldn’t wear neck guards. The most likely way that would happen is if you were on the ice and a skate brushes your throat as you lay there or you get stepped on or kicked in a scrum. Please wear neck guards.

RIP Adam

it’s not like wearing it makes it harder to play🤷‍♂️ its aint obstructing ur vision, it’s a sport. not worth losing your life.. RIP Adam Johnson.

Rip Adam. The hockey universe will never be the same without you. Fly high king 💔🕊️

Probably not, but what should be mandatory is life in prison for the guy that did this, raising your skate 4 feet in the air and doing a kick like you’re Bruce Lee is murder

That was a vicious, and deliberate hit. Legs don't fly that way, unless you make them.

In Sweden it’s illegal to not wear it

And then just recently, an 11 year old in Quebec was killed by a puck to the neck. Those neck guards should be mandatory, and thick enough to prevent collapsed airways from shots.

Murder should be in prison

I just heard about this the other night and was so devastated that this happened. I obviously think neck guards should be mandatory for a NHL players and not just lower levels. RIP Adam Johnson.

Here’s what I’d do: Neck guards mandatory for all NEW players, if you played without one before the rule was made, you don’t have to Similar to the helmet rule, and the visor rule

I think hockey needs to work more on safety neck guards should be mandatory and it my opinion sho should full face guards

This reminds me of the halo in F1. No one wanted them at first, until they started saving lives, now everyone loves it and think they don’t even look bad, as they used to say. They should definitely look into at least some kind of protection, comfortable to wear and making a blade to the throat be more of a blunt hit than a slashing one.

We not gonna talk aout the dude who commited manslaughter because he wanted to be a dick and kick Johnson in the chest but aimed too high.

As a fellow Sheffielder when you said Nottingham 😂😂

yes they should be, why they aren't I have no idea

Mandatory at every level under 18, strongly encouraged afterwards. They are adults and can make their own decisions.

They’re adults. After this tragedy, they now fully understand the risks and can make their own decisions.

I only really pay attention to extreme sports where deaths are fairly common. I’ve been an adrenaline junkie since I was a little kid. It always just seems strange to me when people want to overhaul a whole league because of one death. I’m used to the thought process of “damn, another one, rip, things will continue as normal”. I’ve had that thought about people I personally knew. But I guess it’s all just perspective

May the hockey gods prevent another terrible accident from happening and everyone be safe RIP brother much love from Michigan

F that "let's just wear them" my senior year of high school in New Jersey they started forcing us to play with some type of turtle neck and it was the worst piece of "equipment" I was ever forced to wear. This is such a freak and rare event but what's next? Replace skates with roller blades?

I bought mine, I pulled out of my Sunday game. I refuse to step on ice until I have it delivered. I don’t care how “goofy” or “dusty” it looks

I can already hear the kid in the green jersey asking someone to name 10 books 😂😂😂

Ugh, I HATED wearing a neck guard whilst I was a winger as a kid. But when I switched and stayed as a goalie, I knew it was necessary. Like the helmet on your bike. I used to leave the apartment with it, but would leave it at some elderly ladies place on the first floor and just pick it up upon returning. My mom never knew lol.

RIP

Dude was murdered on the Ice .... Will a neck guard stop someone from maliciously slicing someone's throat?

I wore one when I was playing goalie in beer league hockey. Malarchuk and Zegras factored into that decision.

Omg Bro the Ontario reign was my FAVORITE AHL TEAM AND I REMEMBER HEARING THEM CALL HIS NAME

Bro I play hockey, and I’m scared and sad because he was my fav player😮😢🙏 and the blood on the ice was insane

Neck guards cannot stop crimes from being committed

Neck guards in thin layers of kevlar do wonders it protects againgst all slash wounds and whit a bit of plastic it protects against crush injuries too.

no, it wasnt an accident. it was fricking murder. the killer literally did a flying kick to his face on purpose, not to mention that the murder was one of if not the most penalized players that season. that says something about this second-degree murder case. the family of mister johnson needs to press charges and teach this dirty player a lesson in jail.

You would think after 2 players prior to this have had their neck sliced open by a skate that they would mandate neck guards Yes the prior two were both goalies but the position shouldn’t matter In my opinion, this death was very avoidable and very tragic

F your neck guard. I've played my whole life and that's a stupid idea. Want my solution, don't let some absolute goon idiot go around the league kicking people in the face like their Jean Claude van daM. Why do some people's immediate thoughts when something bad happens always go to more control and power over everyone doing things the right way instead of looking at the person who is actually to blame.

R.I.P. Adam Johnson

Now I have heard of 2 people this has happened to first it was in cricket which was extremely sad and now in hockey also extremely sad poor people that this happens to

Yes, they should have been mandatory since that one incident were the goalie was cut in the throat. Before I moved to where I am now we had to wear Nick protesters or we would be penalized for like 10 minutes. Now where I live now the don’t care about it they only care about the mouth guards.

neck guards should not become mandatory. The amount of times this has happened is not enough to constitute it.

Those vintage oilers uniform are freaking BAD ASS.

I always said the same things as things have changed... players should be able to make their own choices, they shouldn't be forced. I thought the same thing with Helmets, etc.

I will wear a neck guard, when the guy who literally jump kicked someone, with skates on his feet, is held accountable! When people who can’t even skate, want to mandate neck guards, so they don’t have to face that fact.

I was honestly surprised earlier when I found out that they're not mandatory. They're a really simple piece of equipment that can completely prevent death or even serious injuries.

The fact that this was in my city is crazy

Reminds me of Phillip Hughes playing cricket in Australia, amazing how the whole community just ends its bickering and supports the people involved.