Most NHL players have worn neck protection on the ice at some point in his career, most often while playing in leagues where it’s mandated — such as major junior leagues in Canada — or in international tournaments.

Very few wear it now.

But in the wake of Adam Johnson’s tragic death during a professional hockey game in England, that is starting to change, and some Wild players said Saturday they’re open to wearing a neck guard.

“It’s definitely something I’m starting to think about,” veteran wing Marcus Foligno said after Saturday’s morning skate for a 7 p.m. puck drop against the New York Rangers at Xcel Energy Center.

Johnson, a former Minnesota Duluth and Pittsburgh Penguins player, died after a collision during an Elite Hockey League game Oct . 29 in Sheffield, England. His throat was cut by an opponent’s skate in what the team described as a “freak accident.”

Wild rookie defenseman Brock Faber said he anticipates neck protection becoming more common after Johnson’s death. The Penguins this week mandated neck protection for its AHL and ECHL teams, and the WHL has joined its major junior brethren in doing the same. The Minnesota State High School League already is talking about mandating it, as well.

“I think it’s something that will probably be used a lot more,” Faber said. “It’s obviously very scary and sad — a horrible scenario there.”

When center Ryan Hartman was a youth player in Illinois, he said, his father tried to make him a neck protector that was better than the bulky, itchy one Hartman wore in games. Now, technology has caught up, several manufacturers offering neck protectors separately or as part of an undershirt.

Washington forward T.J. Oshie wore a shirt with neck protection from his own company, Warroad Hockey Apparel, during a game this week and said he plans to wear one from now on. That item was sold out on the company’s web site on Saturday.

Hartman has worn wrist protectors in games to protect himself from getting slashed by a skate, but he hasn’t worn a neck protector since he played in the junior Ontario Hockey League.

The Wild have neck guards available for players, but so far no skaters have asked for one. In 1985, a Swedish professional player died after his throat was cut by a skate, and a Connecticut high school player died after being cut during a game in January 2022.

So far, the NHL has avoided a similar incident, although Buffalo goaltender Clint Malarchuk required 300 stitches after his throat was slashed by a skate during a game against the St Louis Blues in 1989. Marc-Andre Fleury took a skate to the throat during a game in December 2016 while playing for Pittsburgh but returned to finish the game.

“I think people got shook (after Johnson’s death), and it hit me hard when T.J. Oshie said he’s got a family and a life after hockey,” Foligno said. “It’s a physical game, guys go flying, guys’ body parts go in different directions and legs come up. It makes total sense on why you should be wearing one.”

It’s worth remembering that NHL players resisted wearing helmets, then wearing eye protection on those helmets. And any league-mandate would actually be made in tandem with the NHL Players Association. A union spokesman said Saturday that the joint NHL/NHLPA Protective Equipment Subcommittee will look further into the issue of neck protection and then work to educate players and teams on cut-resistant equipment.

Faber said that when he wore one in Europe during Team USA National Training and Development Program games, it was a non-issue. “After a practice … not even, a couple of minutes,” he said, “you don’t even realize it’s on.”

Lineup changes

In an effort to give his team a spark, coach Dean Evason and his staff jumbled the top three lines and all of its special teams units. The Wild entered the game on a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) and hasn’t won since beating Edmonton on Oct. 24.

“When you’re not having success, you’ve gotta shake things up,” Evason said before Saturday’s game. “Hopefully, this gives us a spark and we find some chemistry with all four lines.”

After juggling lines after the first period of a 5-3 loss to New Jersey on Thursday, the Wild were set to play their first full game with new personnel on their top three lines. Marco Rossi centered Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy, Ryan Hartman was between Marcus Johansson and Mats Zuccarello, and Joel Eriksson Ek played with Foligno and Pat Maroon.

In addition, rookie Daemon Hunt was set to play in his third NHL game Saturday in place of healthy scratch Jon Merrill.