Recently several readers have e-mailed me to inquire why I haven't commented on head shots resulting in concussion injuries to several NHL players early this season.

Over a month into the current NHL season we've seen Montreal's Andrei Kostitsyn, Carolina's Brandon Sutter and Toronto's Mike Van Ryn sidelined by concussions.

In those cases the players responsible for injuring those three (Phoenix's Kurt Sauer, NY Islanders' Doug Weight and Montreal's Tom Kostopoulos) didn't deliberately intended to do so but rather were trying to follow through with their checks, although in the latter case Kostopoulos did hit Van Ryn from behind.

Still, these instances highlight the fact that concussion injuries are showing no sign thus far of declining.

What these recent instances demonstrate is the difficulty that can be faced by the league in addressing injuries where there appeared to be no deliberate attempt to injure or no apparent breaking of the rules.

It's easy to call for discplinary action against an obvious head-hunter, but another to do so against a player who inadvertently injures an opponent.

It also highlighted how divided the NHL community appears to be on this issue of head shots.

Some believe that any head shot - intentional or not - should be called as a penalty, perhaps as at least an automatic game suspension with follow-up action depnding on the severity of the injury.

Others however suggest it would take hitting out of the game or at the very least hamper checking efforts.

Yes, hockey's a rough game and no one wants to be the physical side of the game diluted, but at the same time the increase in concussion injuries over the past fifteen years is troubling, which if left unchecked could have serious consequences for the NHL.

What is clear is that the longer this issue continues to go unaddressed the greater the likelihood of someone being crippled for life...or worse. It'll be far too late to address the problem then.

- The Colorado Avalanche wasted little time finding a replacement for the departed Jose Theodore, signing former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Andrew Raycroft to a one-year contract worth $800K.

Raycroft has experience as a starter but spent most of last season with the Leafs backing up Vesa Toskala. He’ll likely back up Peter Budaj, who inherits the Avs starting goalie job with Theodore’s departure, but this could be a good opportunity for Raycroft to regain his form and his confidence, which were badly shaken in his final season in Toronto.

-The Phoenix Coyotes were in the market for an experienced physical defenseman after trading away Nick Boynton to Florida as part of the deal for center Olli Jokinen.

They’ve found a good one in Kurt Sauer, inking him to a four-year contract (financial terms yet to be disclosed).

Sauer has plenty of experience in that role with the Ducks and Avalanche and he should be a welcome addition to the Coyotes blueline.

They’ve also added some grit up front in rugged forward Todd Fedoruk by signing him to a three-year contract (financial terms not yet disclosed), who’ll ensure rival teams don’t take liberties with skill players like Jokinen and Shane Doan.