NHL general managers recommend expanding rule on hits to the head

Reporting from Boston — NHL general managers recommended broadening the scope of the year-old rule against illegal checks to the head by removing the term “blindside,” which would subject more hits to penalties and possible discipline.

A committee comprised of general managers Joe Nieuwendyk of Dallas and Steve Yzerman of Tampa Bay and NHL hockey operations executives Rob Blake and Brendan Shanahan also proposed refining the language of Rule 48, which was adopted last season and has been criticized for being open to wide interpretation.

The joint NHL-NHL Players’ Assn. competition committee and the league’s Board of Governors must approve any change.

Blake also said consideration would be given to penalizing hits against players who were “vulnerable and defenseless,” though players would still be responsible for keeping their heads up.

“You’re going to have contact and you’re going to have good, full-body hits and if you went to a complete ban of any contact to the head, then those are going to be ruled out,” Blake said Wednesday. “We didn’t want to go that far by any means. We’re expanding it to a point where good, legal hits are still possible and I think people want to see that, too.”

Nashville GM David Poile said there was no discussion of realignment to accommodate the Atlanta Thrashers’ move to Winnipeg next season. Realignment is expected for the 2012-13 season and could involve shifting a Western Conference team to the East.

Rome update

Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said forward Nathan Horton, who suffered a concussion Monday after being hit by Vancouver defenseman Aaron Rome, is resting “peacefully” and his headaches are easing. Horton is not expected to return to the finals.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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