Conspiracy: Why did concussion spotters miss Anthony Stolarz’s head injury in Game 1?
The Athletic is providing live coverage of Game 3 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Removing an NHL player from a game due to suspected concussion involves a multi-step process. Since the league introduced concussion spotters in the 2015-16 season, their role has evolved. Initially, team personnel were responsible for identifying signs and pulling players, but the NHL later introduced independent spotters stationed both in arenas and at league offices in New York.
These central spotters—trained athletic professionals with hockey experience—monitor games remotely from the Department of Player Safety, watching for concussion symptoms such as a player lying still, struggling with balance or coordination, looking dazed, rising slowly, or holding their head. These remote spotters, not the in-arena ones, make the final call on whether a player needs immediate removal for evaluation or if it’s left to the team’s discretion.
Their presence has already influenced games during these playoffs. For instance, John Tavares of the Leafs was pulled in overtime during Game 4 of the first-round series against Ottawa after an elbow to the head. However, in Game 1 of the second round versus the Panthers, goalie Anthony Stolarz was struck in the head twice—once by a shot that knocked off his mask and then by a controversial forearm—but was not removed by spotters.
He only left the game after vomiting on the bench during the second period, which led to him being taken off on a stretcher and transported to a hospital. This raised concerns among medical experts in the field of sports-related head injuries.
Dr. Chris Nowinski, a former athlete and neuroscientist who co-founded the Concussion Legacy Foundation, criticized the NHL’s handling of Stolarz’s case. He noted clear signs of a concussion after the first hit, such as the goalie shaking his head—a phenomenon Nowinski and his team describe as a “Spontaneous Headshake after a Kinematic Event (SHAAKE),” which they found to have a 72% chance of predicting a concussion.
Nowinski believes the NHL’s spotters are not currently trained to recognize SHAAKE as a warning sign. He added that after the second head hit, which saw Stolarz drop and grab his head, the league still did not mandate a removal—possibly due to the spotters missing the event or deeming it not serious enough.
Because the central spotters didn’t initiate a mandatory pull, it became a discretionary decision left to the Leafs’ medical staff. Stolarz briefly spoke with head therapist Paul Ayotte after the second blow but returned to the net before leaving the game two minutes later after falling ill. His substitute, Joseph Woll, was not given a warmup—something only allowed when a goalie is removed by league concussion protocol.
A Leafs spokesperson later confirmed Stolarz was not removed by a spotter, and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly stated that a review showed no deviations from protocol. But Nowinski warned that involving team personnel in these decisions creates a conflict of interest, particularly in high-stakes playoff games.
He argued that Stolarz clearly should have been removed and that, in other levels of hockey, he likely would have been. According to Nowinski, the pressure to win and protect jobs often delays pulling players from games.
Although the full extent of Stolarz’s condition is unknown, vomiting and being stretchered off suggests the possibility of a brain bleed—an emergency that warranted swift medical action. Stolarz was back with the team behind the scenes the next day but did not play in Game 2, and his future availability remains uncertain.
Coach Craig Berube assured that Stolarz is “recovering.” Meanwhile, Nowinski, long critical of the NHL’s concussion policies, expressed hope in new NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh’s efforts to create a CTE advisory group to better educate players.
Nowinski stressed the need for the NHL to implement clearer, public “no-go” signs—like the NFL does—so players are removed automatically when those symptoms appear. He believes players must now take the lead in protecting themselves, as many remain unaware of the serious, long-term risks of repeated head trauma.
Citing research showing that 19 of the first 20 studied NHL players had CTE, Nowinski emphasized that the culture around concussions must change. Players, he said, often disregard their own brain health and that of their opponents in pursuit of victory. He urged players to take the threat of CTE seriously and work toward a safer sport, reminding them that once CTE develops, there’s currently no cure.
