Poll shows that overwhelming majority of NHL fans want head hits banned

OTTAWA - A new poll shows Canadians are in favour of a ban on blindside hits to the head in hockey.

A survey by The Canadian Press Harris-Decima found 91 per cent of respondents believe it's good the NHL is looking at instituting a rule to curb hits to the head.

"Canadians are clearly of the view that it is time for effective action against hits to the head," pollster Doug Anderson said Tuesday in a statement.

The NHL's 30 general managers met for three days in Florida last week and drafted a rule that would give referees the power to hand out a minor or major penalty for any hit to the head of an unsuspecting player. It must still be approved by the competition committee and board of governors before entering the rulebook.

That initiative received fairly robust support.

Of the 1,000 respondents, 55 per cent said they thought the proposed rule was just right while 32 per cent indicated they didn't believe it went far enough.

The poll has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.