Scarey NHL Moments: Should Players Take More Precautions? [VIDEO]

Sabres fans are all too familiar with the dangers of hockey. Who could forget just a few years back when Florida Panthers Forward Richard Zednik's throat was slashed during a Sabres game here in Buffalo?

While that was one of the more serious incidents, it seems like such cuts occur more often than we realize.  A Minnesota Wild player's face was slashed by a skate blade last night. 

Which leads me to the question, should NHL players be required to take more safeguards in the equipment they wear?

Minnesota Wild Forward Kyle Brodziak took a teammate's skate to the face  last night during a game against the Nashville Predators. (Check out the video below.) Brodziak left the game, but was able to return a short time later with a visor added to his helmet.

Brodziak's cut though is not the first in the NHL this year. A quick internet search found several others including a slash that ripped open the skull of Edmonton Oilers' Forward Taylor Hall during a warm up in January.

Earlier this week, a player with the Phoenix Coyotes AHL affiliate the Portland Pirates took a skate blade to his face. Ryan Duncan need 45 stitches to repair the damage. (Click here to see the pictures.)
Likely the scariest moment ever in Sabres history came in March of 1989, when Buffalo Goalie Clint Malarchuk's carotid artery was severed by a skate blade.  Malarchuk survived the incident, but Sabres fans relived the memory years later when Zednik suffered the same fate while on the ice here in Buffalo in 2008.  (See Malarchuk/Zednik videos below)  All of this leads up to the question, should NHL players be required to wear more protective equipment?