NHL Says Players’ Concussion Claims Barred by Federal Labor Law

Retired NHL players’ concussion claims against the league should be dismissed because federal labor law requires they be resolved in arbitration, the NHL told the Northern District of Illinois.

Former players Daniel Carcillo and Nick Boynton say they aren’t limited to arbitration because the claims accrued after they retired, when they were no longer playing under the bargaining agreement.

Due to the latency of brain disease following repetitive head trauma, the players say, their claims accrued years later when they developed symptoms consistent with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, a brain disease caused by repetitive head trauma.

But that argument fails because ...