In mid-December, a U.S. federal judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by more than 1,000 former NFL players who sued the league, saying its teams haphazardly gave players addictive painkillers. The judge in that case said the collective bargaining agreement between the league and its players was the appropriate way to resolve the dispute. Days later, the NHL is hoping to rely on that NFL victory. In court papers filed in Minnesota court and obtained by TSN, the NHL has argued that a lawsuit filed by its own players should be dismissed for similar reasons as was the NFL case. In the NFL case, former players such as Hall of Fame defensive end Richard Dent said the NFL and its teams, doctors and trainers had withheld information about injuries and issued prescription painkillers without considering the long-term effects. But a judge dismissed the case, although it might still be appealed, saying players should go to arbitration as their CBA dictates. Cash awards in arbitration cases are typically much lower than court judgments. The NHL hopes to convince a judge overseeing its own case that its CBA with the players details the proper protocol that should be followed. Just last week, the court in Dent vs NFL dismissed the claims of retired players that the NFL had negligently allowed them to be over-treated with painkillers, the NHL said in its court filing. In evaluating any possible negligence by the NFL…, it would be necessary to take into account what the NFL has affirmatively done to address the problem, not just what it has not done. The court noted the many steps the NFL had taken to address the issue of player medical care by imposing on clubs detailed provisions in numerous collective bargaining agreements, the NHL said. Although there was no CBA provision that specifically call(ed) out the prescribing of drugs and painkillers, provisions related to player health and safety generally were critical to the analysis because the proper administration of drugs can reasonably be deemed to fall under these more general protections. The NHLs collectively bargained agreements address player safety and health through provisions governing medical treatment for injured players, return-to-play determinations, workers compensation coverage and end-of-season physicals, the NHL wrote. Moreover, unlike in Dent and the other NFL cases, the NHL has had (since 1997) a detailed collectively-bargained framework covering the subject matter underlying the negligence-based claims - the evaluation and management of concussions. In the initial lawsuit filed in November 2013, players contended that the NHL did not do enough to protect them from head injuries before creating a committee to study head trauma in 1997. Even after that, the players charge the committees findings were not adequately shared with the players. The 40-some NHL players - the most prominent of whom include former Red Wings star Joe Murphy, one-time Toronto Maple Leaf Gary Leeman and former Los Angeles Kings star Bernie Nicholls - filed the suit after a group of nearly 4,500 former NFL players reached a settlement with the NFL over similar concussion-related complaints. The NHL players claims have not been proven in court. The league earlier said that players who were forced to retire early because of concussions and other head injuries ought to have been able to put two and two together, thanks to a number of newspaper and magazine stories and other news reports. The NHL has reiterated the claim that former players have waited too long to file for damages and have long been represented by a sophisticated players union charged by federal law to advance their welfare. When a plaintiff is aware of an injury and its cause, he is charged with knowing publicly available information that could be revealed through a reasonable search, particularly where the issue has been discussed in the press and medical studies are accessible through Internet searches, the NHL said. Plaintiffs contend that they had no burden to investigate because they relied on the NHLs allegedly superior ability to interpret medical studies, the NHL said. But courts have squarely rejected arguments, like this one, based on a plaintiffs alleged educational disadvantage relative to the defendant - even in cases involving a trust relationship between the parties (which is absent here.) Cheap Vans Sale . To be fair, the celebrations are already anything but tame. Nerf ball tricks shots are just the tip of the iceberg for a group that has performed in zero gravity, faced pro-skateboarder Rob Dyrdek and an assembled team on the MTV series "Fantasy Factory", and even hit a basketball trick shot from a passing blimp. Vans Shoes Cheap Online . An in-person hearing allows for Garbutt to be suspended for five games or longer as per the leagues Collective Bargaining Agreement. Garbutt delivered a high hit to Penner in the second period of Sundays game. http://www.cheapvanssale.com/. Not bad for a defenceman. The goal, that is. Although the shuffling dance steps werent bad, either. Barrie scored 55 seconds into overtime, Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 shots, and the Avalanche moved a step closer to their first playoff berth in four years with a 3-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. Cheap Vans Shoes Wholesale .C. -- Tony Stewart will not race Saturday night at Bristol Motor Speedway, the third Sprint Cup race hes skipped since his car struck and killed Kevin Ward Jr. Cheap Authentic Vans Shoes . -- Canadian mens rugby coach Kieran Crowley has made four changes to his starting roster for Saturdays Pacific Nations Cup clash against the United States.Things started off quite well for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but their January slide has pushed them out of playoff position. So whats exactly wrong with the Blue and White these days? The team opened 2014 on a high, defeating the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 in a shootout in front of more than 105,000 fans at Michigan Stadium for the NHLs Winter Classic. Since the outdoor win, the Leafs have dropped three straight games and have been outscored 18-5 in those contests. On top of that, the club has just five regulation/overtime victories over their last 31 games and a 4-13 record in the 17 games that ended in regulation. By comparison, the Leafs had 13 regulation/overtime wins in their final 31 games under Ron Wilson. Going into Friday nights game against Washington, theyve gone 2-7-4 in their last 13 road games, are 4-for-43 on the power play and their last road regulation win was Oct. 30 in Calgary. Is it the coaching? Many fans have called for the firing of head coach Randy Carlyle. In his lone full season with the Leafs, he led the team to their first playoff appearance since 2004. But is it possible that his good will with the players has taken a turn south? Many observers have blamed Carlyle for the Leafs defensive system, which has allowed a league-high 36.4 shots on goal per game and league-worst minus-9.2 shot differential. Others argue that the shot totals have been high all year and are nothing new for the Leafs. Their goaltending struggles, however, certainly are. Is the problem in goal? The Leafs relied on the strong play of James Reimer and more specifically Jonathan Bernier to get wins this season, but both have struggled of late. Bernier played 29 gaames with the Leafs this season before getting pulled for the first time on Saturday in a 7-1 loss against the New York Rangers.dddddddddddd He allowed five goals on 32 shots in just under two periods of play. And Bernier struggled again the next time out against the New York Islanders, allowing four goals on 24 shots, three of them that Carlyle said Bernier wanted back. The Leafs lost again, 5-3. The team turned back to Reimer on Thursday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, but he allowed six goals on 36 shots and the team lost its third straight game, 6-1. As TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger noted on TSN Radio 1050 on Friday morning, the Leafs, "played 60 minutes like they were killing a 5-on-3." At the same time, Torontos offence hasnt been anywhere near good enough to make up for the defensive shortfall. The Leafs top two scorers, Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk, have just one point between them over the last three games. The losing skid could be attributed to many things, but is it as simple as a Winter Classic hangover? The Leafs played most of December under the watchful eyes of television cameras documenting their lives, on and off the ice, for HBOs 24/7 Winter Classic series. When they won the game and shook their opponents hands at centre ice, the camera crews packed up and life was supposed to return to normal. But since then victories have been hard to come by. And now the Leafs find themselves on the outside looking in for a playoff spot with just under half the season remaining and Olympic break four weeks away. The time has come to ask, whats wrong with the Toronto Maple Leafs? As always, its Your! Call. ' ' '