FILE – In this Sept. 29, 2014, file photo, then-Pittsburgh Penguins left wing Daniel Carcillo talks with linesman Bryan Pancich, left, during the second period of a preseason NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild, in St. Paul, Minn. The deadline for retired players to opt in to the $18.9 million settlement of the concussion lawsuit against the NHL has been extended. Players’ lawyers confirmed the extension to The Associated Press on Friday, Jan. 18, 2019. It was not immediately clear what the new deadline was.(AP Photo/Ann Heisenfelt, FIle)
The deadline for retired players to opt in to the $18.9 million settlement of the concussion lawsuit against the NHL has been extended.
Players’ attorneys confirmed the extension to The Associated Press on Friday night. It was not immediately clear what the new deadline was.
The 318 former players who sued the league and accused it of failing to protect them from head injuries or warning them of the risks involved with playing initially had until the Friday to opt in to the settlement that was reached 75 days ago.
Each player who opts in would receive $22,000 and could be eligible for up to $75,000 in medical treatment. The settlement is significantly less than the billion-dollar agreement reached between the NFL and its former players on the same issue of head injuries.
Charles Zimmerman, a lead attorney for players, said earlier in the day participation is “very good” so far, adding there were still some players who needed to be contacted for their decisions.
“The vast majority of eligible retired players have agreed to participate in the proposed NHL concussion settlement,” players’ lawyers said in a statement. “Plaintiffs’ counsel, however, have encountered difficulties reaching some eligible retired players to discuss the settlement. Thus, at the request of plaintiffs’ counsel, the NHL has agreed to extend the participation deadline to allow completion of those communications.”
Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly referred the matter to plaintiffs’ lawyers and said the NHL would have no comment.
Daniel Carcillo, a vocal critic of the league and the settlement, said he would not be opting in and knew more 10-12 other former players who also were not. Carcillo said Friday he wanted his day in court with the league but didn’t begrudge anyone who wanted to opt in and take the $22,000.
Carcillo said he has fielded calls from more than 20 heads of individual teams’ alumni associations and that he has tried to tell any player who asks the facts of the lawsuit without injecting his opinion. Carcillo pointed to
“If 22’s enough for you and you need it, then go ahead,” said Carcillo, who played 474 regular-season and playoff games from 2007-2015. “I won’t judge anybody who takes it. I don’t judge the guys who (played) five games and they saw an opportunity. But I also say this so that people understand why it’s such a disrespectful number because right now (the NHL doesn’t) feel that threatened.”
Reed Larson, who played 936 NHL regular-season and playoff games, said he signed on to be part of the settlement but understood why some players with serious health problems decided not to because the money wouldn’t cut it for them. There is a clause in the settlement that allows the NHL to terminate it if 100 percent of players don’t accept, but Larson said lawyers are not concerned.
“They think everything will go ahead and move ahead and they don’t see any reason why it won’t,” Larson said.
By STEPHEN WHYNO
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