NHL bans beloved pregame warmup tradition, players from before 2019 will not be affected

Over the years of Gary Bettman's tenure as Commissioner of the National Hockey League, there have been some odd rules implemented, some that became popular with fans, and some that simply haven't.

One of the rules that fans don't love involves the enforcement of helmets in warmups, one that players have broken many times as rookie laps are often taken by players without helmets.

As a result, those teams are handed fines, and in that situation, those fines are paid by the rest of the team on behalf of the rookie taking their lap, but recently we've seen it more and more.

Recently, several players for the New Jersey Devils celebrated Brendan Dillon's 1000th NHL game, and in doing so, saw several players warm up without helmets to celebrate their teammate.

Now, reports have revealed that the NHL has indeed sent out memo's to remind teams of the rule that anyone who entered the league after 2019/20 must wear a helmet, while those that entered the league beforehand are exempt from the rule.

This rule has clearly been implemented for player safety, and even with fans and players expressing how much warming up without a helmet is fine, the league clearly aren't backing down on this situation.

Ultimately, despite protests, this isn't going to change anytime soon, and while the league will likely continue to take the fines for rookie laps, if it continues this way, there's a chance that Bettman, Bill Daly and the league step in and try get rid of another great tradition.