PHILADELPHIA — What did the Flames know and when did they know it?
That will become the critical issue in the aftermath of the Dennis Wideman incident that could become the NHL’s Concussiongate once all appeals are exhausted and the final verdict is handed down on the Calgary defenseman, currently serving a 20-game suspension under Rule 40.2 for having violently crosschecked (my words) linesman Don Henderson on Jan. 27.
The rule that stipulates “intent to injure” was applied even though the league acknowledged Wideman had suffered a brain injury as the result of taking a hard check into the glass/dasher seconds before running into — or running — Henderson.