Only four players who don't wear visors remain under an NHL contract.
Two years ago, TheHockeyNews.com examined the eight players who were still playing NHL games without the visor on their helmets. Half of those players either retired or didn't play in the NHL in 2024-25.
The NHL introduced the mandatory visor rule in 2013-14. All players who appeared in fewer than 25 NHL games before that season must wear a visor "properly affixed to their helmet."
Of all the league's active players, 101 of them played games before the 2013-14 season. Of that group, 83 played at least 25 games. In fact, Alex Ovechkin had already played 601 games by that point. Corey Perry, Brent Burns, Anze Kopitar and Shea Weber, who hasn't played since 2021 due to injury but is under contract for one more season, each passed 500 games as well.
That said, all those longtime NHLers wear visors. Let's take a fresh look at the four active visor-less players before seeing who dropped off the list since April 2023.
Ryan O'Reilly, C, Nashville Predators
O'Reilly, 34, played 265 regular-season NHL games and recorded 45 goals and 82 assists for 127 points before the visor rule came into effect.
The 6-foot-1 center from Clinton, Ont., is currently an alternate captain on the Nashville Predators. He has two years left on his contract at a $4.5-million cap hit, and he's still bringing some scoring power and two-way play to the lineup. He followed up his 69-point campaign in 2023-24 with 21 goals and 32 assists for 53 points in 79 games in 2024-25. His 746 faceoff wins were the 11th-most in the NHL, good for a 55.7 win percentage.
O'Reilly is also 48 games away from 1,200 in his NHL career.
Jamie Benn, LW, Dallas Stars
Benn, 36, has been the Dallas Stars' captain for as long as the visor rule's been in effect. Before 2013-14, he had 82 goals and 111 assists for 193 points in 263 games.
The 6-foot-3 left winger from Victoria, B.C., re-signed with the Stars on a one-year contract with a $1-million cap hit and $3 million worth of performance bonuses – $500,000 each at 20, 30, 50 and 60 games played, $500,000 for winning the third round and another $500,000 for winning the Stanley Cup while playing in at least half of his team's playoff games.
After recording 78 points in 2022-23 and 60 points in 2023-24, Benn put up 16 goals and 33 assists for 49 points in 80 games this past season while winning 56 percent of his faceoffs, going 296-for-529. He's eight games away from 1,200 in his career, one goal away from 400 and 44 points away from 1,000.
Zach Bogosian, D, Minnesota Wild
Bogosian, 35, played 297 games before mandatory visors became grandfathered in, recording 34 goals and 69 assists for 103 points.
Bogosian played 81 games in 2024-25, which ties a career high set initially with the Atlanta Thrashers in 2009-10, his sophomore season. He had four goals and 12 assists for 16 points with the Minnesota Wild in 2024-25. He averaged 15:48 of ice time and had 80 blocked shots and 81 hits.
The 6-foot-3 blueliner from Massena, N.Y., has one season left on a two-year contract worth $1.25 million annually.
Ryan Reaves, RW, San Jose Sharks
Reaves, 38, played 131 games and recorded nine goals, five assists, 14 points and 281 penalty minutes before 2013-14. His 29 major penalties are the most among the NHL's active players who played before the visor rule took effect.
The 6-foot-2 right winger from Winnipeg still has the most major penalties among active players to date, with 93. He's arguably the most feared fighter in the NHL, with Georges Laraque, Andrew Peters and Craig Rivet each ranking him as the league's top active fighter in 2023.
After recording two assists in 35 games, the Toronto Maple Leafs put Reaves through waivers in March and traded him to the San Jose Sharks on July 10. He has one season left on a three-year contract with a $1.35-million cap hit.
Who Else Was In The Final Eight?
Jordie Benn, Zack Kassian, Milan Lucic and Matt Martin were among the final eight visor-less NHL players in 2022-23.
Jordie Benn, 38, is now a development coach and amateur scout on the Stars, recently working with the team's prospect pipeline at development camp. He retired from professional hockey in September 2024.
Martin, 36, retired on June 24 after playing 987 regular-season games and recording 3,936 hits, the second-most in the NHL since 2005-06 when the stat was first tracked. The New York Islanders hired him as a special assistant to GM Mathieu Darche.
Kassian, 34, retired from the NHL in October 2023 and played eight games in Czechia in 2023-24. He spent the 2024-25 season as a pro scout with the Edmonton Oilers.
Lucic, 37, last played in the NHL with the Boston Bruins in October 2023. He took a leave of absence from the Bruins after being arrested on a domestic violence charge, but the case was later dismissed. His partner, Brittany Lucic, posted a photo of her and Milan Lucic smiling to Instagram on July 22, with the caption saying, "healing is real… and it's exactly what this world needs more of."
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