The NHL is also dealing with this, in the last off-season 3 current or former NHL players committed suicide.
Interesting that you mention the NHL. I was wondering what the rate of concussions in the NHL were before they wore helmets, compared to afterwards. I was born and raised in Rochester, NY, and in the 60's, used to go to the Amerks games (AHL). The players didn't wear helmets, and the goalies were without masks. That was back when Gerry Cheevers was their goalie, and Don Cherry played for them. At one of the games, Cheevers took a hit on the underside of his chin with a puck and had to have several stitches.
I found out several years ago that Tim Horton was a cousin of mine. He had passed away by then. Killed in a car accident on his way home from a game. Up until I started doing research on my mother's side of the family, I had never heard of him or the restaurant chain he was part of.