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Cut-resistant neck guards to be mandatory for new NHL players in 2026-27: Sources
Players entering the NHL in the 2026-27 season and beyond will be required to wear cut-resistant neck guards as part of the new collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHL Players' Association, league sources told The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun.
Players with at least one game played before that season will be grandfathered in and won't be required to wear the neck guards.
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The NHL follows the AHL, which required all players and on-ice officials to wear the protective equipment beginning this past season. The IIHF made neck guards mandatory for all levels of competition — including the Olympics and men's and women's world championships — following Adam Johnson's tragic death in October 2023.
Johnson, 29, was playing for the Nottingham Panthers in England's Elite Ice Hockey League when his neck was cut by an opponent's skate blade during a game.
A small percentage of NHL players have adopted the protective equipment since. During the league's general manager meetings last September, NHL senior executive vice president Colin Campbell revealed that only 55 of 700 skaters (7.7 percent) were wearing the equipment. A higher percentage of players have started wearing cut-resistant undergarments around their wrists and legs.
Los Angeles Kings star Anze Kopitar wore a neck guard for the entire 2024-25 season, as did Pittsburgh's Erik Karlsson, Buffalo's Rasmus Dahlin, and Detroit's Marco Kasper. Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson adopted the apparel late in the season after the team acquired veteran forward Brandon Saad, who also wears the neck guard.
Similar to how the league introduced mandatory helmets in 1979, the neck guards will only be mandatory for players making their NHL debut in the 2026-27 season.
This was first reported by Daily Faceoff's Frank Seravalli.
