It was a lively weekend in the NHL, what with Heritage Classic redux, pre-deadline trades on several fronts, Sheldon Souray being placed on re-entry waivers and, the morning after his first NHL hat trick, Taylor Hall-mania in Edmonton as 10,000 fans choked the concourses at West Edmonton Mall at the Oilers' annual autograph session.

Still, something -rather, someone -continued to be missing from the NHL scene, disturbingly absent, in fact. That would be Sidney Crosby, the game's best player, who is still recovering from a concussion.

An unpenalized head shot by Washington Capitals forward David Steckel during the Winter Classic on Jan. 1 caused Crosby's concussion, as is well known. His condition worsened after Crosby was hit from behind by Tampa Bay's hulking defenceman Victor Hedman in a game on Jan. 5. Crosby has not played since.

That reality was firmly in mind as NHL commissioner Gary Bettman responded to questions about how the culture has changed as a result of Rule 48, which prohibits blindside head shots, and was implemented for the current season.

Based on preliminary date, blindside hits are down this year over last, Bettman said. Any increase in concussions this year can be attributed to other factors: teammates colliding accidentally; players tripping and falling and cracking their head on the ice, the boards or the glass; players being struck by the puck, on and on.

The NHL sees Crosby's concussion as a result of such an accidental collision, which is either a crock or a reasonable explanation, depending on your point of view.

"It's (concussions) something we're continuing to monitor," Bettman said in a between-periods news conference at Rexall Place on Saturday night. "It's a very important issue.

"We want to make sure we're doing everything possible for player safety. We don't like concussions."

Bettman citing things like the NHL being the first pro league to establish a concussion study group in 1997, involving the league, the NHL Players' Association, trainers and physicians; first to to baseline testing; first to implement a protocol for diagnosis of concussions and decision on return to play.

Still, there continue to be questions about the application of the protocol, whether in the case of Crosby, who played a second game after apparently being concussed, or others.

Bettman's status report reflected the league's ongoing balancing act between selling physical contact and being vigilant on player safety.

Some see a hit such as Steckel on Crosby as further evidence, as if more were needed, that the league's approach to head shots should be zero tolerance, whether intentional, frontal, blindside or whatever.

Careless use of the stick is penalized, after all, whether it was intentional or not, the idea being players will take better care of that weapon.

Bettman said league officials have been noting, and pulling footage of, players pulling up, showing respect for an opponent in a vulnerable position. And many observers can cite anecdotal evidence of that phenomenon.

"Having said that, to those of you who advocate a simple no head-hit rule, if you're going to change the rules, you need to be very focused on what it is you're attempting to address," Bettman said.

"We need to make sure that if we're going to effectuate changes in the game with rules changes (that) we're addressing what we thing the problem is."

That such care is taken not to write and enforce overbroad rules about something as deadly serious as head shots befuddles so many, including many who embrace hockey as a hitting game.

The reluctance seems wholly misguided, and that's not even mentioning fighting, an ongoing festival of head shots, many of which cause concussions.

The issue should not be primarily about getting to some acceptable percentage of concussions, but enforcing rules that protect all players, including stars like Crosby, from unnecessary head trauma.

When the league installed the rules package coming out of the 2004-05 lockout, it changed the game for the better, increasing speed, flow and enhancing the importance of skill.

But a piece was missing from the package: enforcement of severe penalties and suspensions for delivering head shots in that fast-paced environment.

More than a few believe the incidence of cheap hits to the heads of the likes of Crosby could be stopped in its tracks precisely by a simple no head-hit rule, enforced by severe penalties and harsh suspensions.

The players are nothing if not adaptable, they would learn to deliver body-to-body hits.

Yet, the NHL continues to tip-toe warily around this issue. You can't just change rules willy-nilly.

And Crosby continues to sit.

jmackinnon@edmontonjournal.com Twitter.com/rjmackinnon Check out my blog, Sweatsox, at edmontonjournal.com/blogs