- Ryan Reaves retiring leaves Jamie Benn, Zach Bogosian and Ryan O’Reilly as the NHL’s only visor-less skaters
- All three were grandfathered in under the rule the league brought in for 2013-14
- Read below for what each one is signed for and the night Benn broke ranks
The NHL’s visor-less club is down to three.
Ryan Reaves hung up his skates on Wednesday, and that leaves Jamie Benn, Zach Bogosian and Ryan O’Reilly as the only skaters in the league who still play with nothing in front of their eyes.
We put the three of them side by side on Friday. Benn in the Dallas whites, Bogosian in a Minnesota sweater, O’Reilly in Nashville gold, every one of them bare-faced:
That rule came in for 2013-14. Anyone with fewer than 25 games of NHL experience at the time had to wear a visor, while everybody already past that mark got to decide for himself. The group has been draining out ever since.
Reaves was the fourth-to-last holdout. He announced he was finished on Instagram at 39 years old, closing out 962 games and 3,225 career hits:
All three survivors are signed for this season. Benn took a one-year deal in Dallas worth $850,000 in base salary plus $1.15 million in possible bonuses. Bogosian re-upped with the Wild at a $1.25 million cap hit. O’Reilly has one year left on his four-year contract in Nashville at $4.5 million, and he finished second on the Predators in scoring last season with 74 points in 81 games.
Benn nearly broke ranks in January. He went face-first into the ice after contact with Montreal’s Zachary Bolduc, took stitches in his nose and sat out three games. He returned against the Kings with a visor bolted to his bucket.
Glen Gulutzan said he liked the look, then pointed out that he had coached Benn in the AHL, where visors are mandatory. Stars reporter Owen Newkirk went and dug up the photo evidence:
Someone asked the Stars captain about the shield after that game.
“I think that’s probably it for me,” Benn said. “Back to normal tomorrow. I haven’t talked to my mom yet, but I know she loved it, and definitely my wife.”
He was telling the truth. Outside of his rookie year, Benn has worn a visor in exactly two NHL games, the other coming in January 2017 after Dmitry Orlov broke his nose with a high stick.
