NHL Competition Committee makes key recommendations
The NHL Competition Committee met for five hours on Monday to discuss recommendations to the NHL Board of Governors and the Executive Board of the National Hockey League Players’ Association.
More from NHL
- NHL Rumors: Legendary Patrice Bergeron retires, which 3 players could be next to hang up their skates?
- NHL Rumors: Latest on Hart, Hellebuyck, Gibson trade possibilities
- NHL Rumors: 5 forwards most likely to sign early extensions this summer
- NHL Rumors: Where things stand with Erik Karlsson, Penguins and Hurricanes
- NHL Rumors: Penguins nearly traded for Erik Karlsson at deadline
One of the biggest concerns was implementing video review. The problem is that the calls are subjective at best and the expectation to get these calls right will increase.
NHLPA special assistant to the executive director Mathieu Schneider stated:
"“I think Gary said it best in the meeting when he said, ‘Once we go to video review there’s an expectation that we’re going to get these calls right all the time,'” Schneider said referring to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. “You can have two reasonable people sitting in a room watching the same video and have two very different opinions on that video. It becomes, like Gary said, very complex. The feeling is right now we’re not at the point where we could get a meaningful video review that would have a 100 percent outcome.”"
The Committee is also recommending that overtime games be required to switch ends after regulation in order to implement the long-change element similar to the second period. In the second period teams have to defend the net furthest from their bench and more goals are usually scored in this situation.
Another recommendation is that the arena ice crew should dry scrape the ice before overtime. Currently the ice crew only does a dry scrape before a shootout, but giving the players fresh ice before the five minute overtime would be beneficial as well. “The theory is to increase goal scoring within regulation or 4-on-4 — trying to not allow teams to play to get to the shootout is the goal here,” Schneider said. “We’re trying to end more games 5-on-5 or 4-on-4 in overtime.”
The Committee is recommending the hash marks on the outside of the in-zone faceoff circles be extended from 3 1/2 feet to five feet apart. These dimensions are currently used in the International Ice Hockey Federation and would help keep consistency when players switch between leagues. Also, the trapezoid, which is currently 18 feet along the goal line, is being recommended to increase to 22 feet along the goal line.
Final recommendations include that only one player be allowed to take the faceoff after icing and that the officials will begin to give out more warnings in terms of embellishment.