Why don't hockey players wear mouth guards?

So I'm watching a Stanley Cup Playoff game and it seems like every player they show is missing front teeth, and none are wearing mouth guards. I feel like if I was in the NHL I'd want to keep my teeth. Am I missing something?

They’re not missing teeth from hockey. They are from foreign countries.

y2kMgrad wrote:So I'm watching a Stanley Cup Playoff game and it seems like every player they show is missing front teeth, and none are wearing mouth guards. I feel like if I was in the NHL I'd want to keep my teeth. Am I missing something?

Apparently, not your day-brightening smile.

Pretty sure a mouth guard doesn't prevent a 100mph hard rubber disc from dislodging teeth.

Maybe it wouldn’t. But wouldn’t you wear one anyway? How can it hurt?

The concussion angle alone is a good reason to wear one.

https://youtu.be/veNihX5w39k

DWags wrote:https://youtu.be/veNihX5w39k

I have a feeling I don't want to click that link

Not sure, but maybe because it has to do with communicating? Or just what is left of the toughness mentality that had players not wearing helmets, then later the stigma against visors, and so on.

I’m not sure.

You could ask them, but I doubt you’d be able to understand them. Gum-speak is like another language, and Canadian gum-speak minus well be smoke signals.

So maybe the Grind Line wasn’t really about dogged, physical effort, but about whether or not guys wore or didn’t wear mouth guards.

tGreenWay wrote:You could ask them, but I doubt you’d be able to understand them. Gum-speak is like another language, and Canadian gum-speak minus well be smoke signals.