Time after time, the NHL has been asked about and proceeded to deny the link between on-ice fighting, concussions and long-term health consequences. In 2015, commissioner Gary Bettman even claimed that there was “no evidence” of that connection -- no “statistical correlation” between the fracases in the NHL’s rinks and degenerative diseases like chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) that have been found in the brains of some of its deceased players.