There have been hockey playoff games in Minnesota and talk of a Winter Classic. But now, the State of Hockey will host a more somber NHL showdown: a court battle over whether the league fostered a culture of violence that led to debilitating head injuries.

A series of lawsuits claiming the NHL let brain trauma run rampant will be consolidated before a federal judge in St. Paul.

They were transferred Tuesday after a federal judicial panel decided that the state was the best venue because of its central location and proximity to the homes of many former players living in Canada.

About two dozen former players have signed their names to the suits, which were originally filed in Minnesota, New York and Washington, D.C. They range from fringe journeymen to pugilistic enforcers to standouts with decades-long careers and Stanley Cup championships.

The lawsuits claim that the NHL failed to warn or protect its players against the dangers of blows to the head, even as it generated billions in revenue “through the sophisticated use of extreme violence as a commodity.”

League lawyers declined to comment Wednesday, directing reporters to a statement the NHL released in November.

In the statement, league Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said the NHL was “completely satisfied with the responsible manner in which the league and the Players’ Association have managed player safety over time, including with respect to head injuries and concussions.”

U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson will hear the consolidated cases. Issues yet to be determined include scheduling, an amended complaint from the players and the leadership structure of about a dozen law firms representing them.

The NHL has yet to file its answer to the players’ allegations. Two New York-based firms represent the league in the case.

Players named in the lawsuits range in age from recent retirees in their 30s to those in their 60s. Former North Stars include Brad Maxwell and Tom Younghans — teammates in the 1970s and early ’80s — and a few others. At least six of the players are from Minnesota.

Lawyers for the players say the plaintiffs are just a fraction of those potentially affected by the case.

Court documents lay out the injuries the players suffered during their careers: brutal blows to the head, multiple concussions and chronic brain damage. All of it took place on the league’s watch with little recourse in spite of clear research on the effects of head injuries, according to the lawsuits.

The damage done by in-game fighting is particularly egregious because such acts are codified into NHL rules, said Brian Gudmundson, a Minneapolis lawyer for the plaintiffs.

Not only does fighting hurt the participants, “it creates the attitude that getting a blow to the head by a very large, professionally trained man is not a serious injury,” he said.

It wasn’t that long ago, Gudmundson said, that even hockey video games depicted players viciously pounding on one another and bleeding from the head on the ice — a sign of a culture steeped in sanctioned violence.

Gudmundson said the league has moved in the right direction in recent years with greater awareness, new rules about hits and tighter protocols for head injuries. But “there’s a lot of guys laying in the road behind us,” he said.

Gudmundson also worked on similar head-injury lawsuits filed by thousands of ex- players against the NFL.

Those have been settled — originally for $765 million, now for an uncapped sum after concerns arose about the money running out.

Last month, the NCAA reached a $70 million settlement with former athletes over the same issue.

The hockey lawsuits aren’t yet far enough along for lawyers to determine how much money players might seek, Gudmundson said. Structural changes to the game, such as curbing fights, also could be among the objectives.

Court battles over head injuries also have spilled beyond full-contact sports. On Wednesday, a group of soccer parents and players filed a class-action lawsuit in California against the sport’s governing body, seeking rule changes to better address concussions.

Although the NFL and NHL lawsuits have differences, Gudmundson said the underlying theme is the same: “At the end of the day, the notion that a head injury is not a serious injury pervaded both leagues for a long, long time.”

John Shipley contributed to this story. Marino Eccher can be reached at 651-228-5421.

Follow him at twitter.com/marinoeccher.