Yzerman's injury could have been prevented by a visor. It should be the players choice, but I don't see how you can rationalize the risk of injury from an accidental incident like this or even place enough faith in your competitors to entrust something as important as your eye sight. roddy, you have been lulled into a false sense of security and you're only kidding youself if you don't think you could be next. The people you are playing with are not as skilled or experienced enough to know the difference between how to play against someone with protection and someone without.
Kathleen does have a point in that much of the lack of respect in the NHL now is equipment related. The player delivering the hit feels nothing and is invincible. As a result you get reckless attempts to "intimidate" you opponents and that's when players choose to retaliate in a manner that will be felt...usually a shot to the head. I went through a phase of invincibility as a result of a should injury experienced while playing lacrosse. After purchasing an NHL calibre set of shoulder pads I was able to hit anthing that moved without experiencing any discomfort on my part. Unfortunately during this period of invincibility, I hit someone, who coincidently was on of those people who chose not to wear any facial protection. Although the hit was clean, his helmet was dislodged and as we landed on the ground, his exposed head hit the ground knocking him unconscious while at the same time the plastic shoulder cap on my pads caused an 8 stitch gash under his eye. Bottom line...he had a headache for a while and still has a slight scar and wears a helmet with a full cage and a four point chin strap. I continue to wear a full cage and returned to more traditional protection and a finesse game... the pads are now a museum piece in my basement. It could have been much worse.
I find for the most part in leagues (recreational) where certain protective gear is optional, I find that the unprotected players tend to play bigger because they know most of their opponents will be reluctant to play them hard so as not to injured them. The unfortunate part is that one mistake (usually accidental and preventable) can be tragic.