Why so many NHL players skip the visor

Only four NHL players refuse to wear visors during the 2024-25 season, marking a dramatic shift from just over a decade ago. How many NHL players don't wear visors? The answer keeps getting smaller every year. Ryan Reaves, Ryan O'Reilly, Zach Bogosian, and Jamie Benn stand as the final holdouts in professional hockey. These veterans represent the last generation allowed to play without face protection, a privilege granted because they played before the league changed its rules.

The four players still going without visors

Ryan Reaves with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ryan O'Reilly with the Nashville Predators, Zach Bogosian with the Minnesota Wild, and Jamie Benn with the Dallas Stars remain visor-free. All four are 33 years old or older. They played their first NHL games before 2013, which grandfathered them into an exemption from the mandatory visor rule. The league allowed existing players to continue playing without visors if they had logged 25 or more games before the 2013-14 season started.

These players cite habit, comfort, and tradition as reasons for their choice (honestly, I get it). Some feel visors obstruct their view slightly or simply prefer the way they played for decades. Others view going without as part of hockey toughness. Yet Jamie Benn has acknowledged family concerns about eye safety. Still he maintains his decision to play unprotected.

Why the NHL pushed visors and what changed

The NHL introduced its visor mandate in 2013-14 after decades of serious eye injuries. Bryan Berard's near-blinding stick injury in 2000 became a turning point for hockey safety. Berard's eye was badly cut and nearly ruined his career, sparking real conversations about better protection.

The numbers tell the safety story clearly. In 2011-12, only 68 percent of NHL players wore visors. Today, over 89 percent do. That jump happened because all new players entering the league must wear one. Veterans cannot be forced, but the younger generation has no choice whatsoever.

Visors protect against sticks, pucks, and collision injuries that can cause permanent damage. Eye injuries end careers and affect players for life. The league recognized that prevention saves careers and keeps players healthy. Young players entering professional hockey now see visor use as standard, not optional.

The mandate respects veteran choice while protecting the future of hockey. Players like Reaves, O'Reilly, Bogosian, and Benn may disappear from rosters in the coming years, and no new visor-free players will replace them. The four remaining holdouts represent a fading era of hockey. When they retire, every NHL player will wear protection (finally). The safety shift in professional hockey now feels complete.