NHL players cast their vote for which rules need to be amended/eliminated
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Officiating in the NHL has come under a massive amount of scrutiny the past couple of seasons, but especially during the playoffs last season. The officials have been called out for spending too much time calling penalties for "game management" reasons rather than calling them by what is written in the rulebook. Not only have in-game officials been called out, but the review room in Toronto has lots of explaining to do as well. The review room in Toronto constantly changed the definition of goaltender interference and what defined a kicking motion last season and not only did it drive fans nuts, but you could see how frustrating it was for players and coaches alike.
During the NHL/NHLPA's media tour, players sat down with ESPN and were asked if they could remove or change one rule what would it be. Some responses were logical and others were joking, let's take a look at some of them:
Darcy Kuemper: "Get rid of the trapezoid, so I can play the puck everywhere."
Matthew Tkachuk: "I think 3-on-3 should go until somebody scores, no shootout."
Brady Tkachuk: "The instigator rule."
Jack Eichel: "Probably getting kicked out of faceoffs because I get kicked out of a lot of faceoffs."
Jonathan Huberdeau: "Probably offside. You can be wherever you want in the zone so you don't need to backcheck."
Jake Oettinger: "More definitive goalie interference rules. Make it more cut-and-dry. Every play is different but you never know. They can be tough, controversial calls."
I completely agree with Ottinger, and Matthew Tkachuk on those rule changes. The shootout is boring and lost its novelty a very long time ago. The league needs to figure out a black and white, definitive answer for what goaltender interference is before the season starts. There has been way too many instances where one game certain contact is allowed and the next it isn't.
Of course Brady Tkachuk wants to remove the instigator rule because he's always the one starting things, but there are certain instances where it shouldn't be applied. For instance, standing up for a teammate after a dirty hit.
Maybe the league should sit down with the players to go review some of the rules they have and get the players' input on them to give everyone a better understanding and provide black and white situations so there is limited or no confusion.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 21 | 405 ANSWERS NHL players cast their vote for which rules need to be amended/eliminated Which rule would you like to see changed? | ||
| Continuous 3-on-3 instead of shootout | 223 | 55.1 % |
| Get rid of the trapezoid | 57 | 14.1 % |
| Definitive goalie interference rules | 85 | 21 % |
| Other | 40 | 9.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
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