“If you were commissioner for a day, which rule change would you implement?” That’s the question bandied about sports bars, backyard barbecues, and live chats as hockey fans try to figure out a way to improve (or, as some would say, fix) their favorite sport.
Take away icings. Remove offsides. Forget about that darned trapezoid.
The NHL may be loath to make significant changes, but one league will try something new next season. The Champions Hockey League, a season-long tournament that sees the best clubs across all European leagues battle it out, will institute three changes to how penalties are dealt with.
- Scoring does not end a two-minute powerplay
- A goal during a delayed penalty does not negate the upcoming powerplay
- A shorthanded goal will end the powerplay
These aren’t completely brand new ideas. Hockey minds (notably Jeff Marek of Sportsnet) have been pushing for the first two rule changes for a long time. The third will likely be most interesting to hockey fans in North America.
One has to wonder if it will hurt the number of shorthanded chances, though, with teams icing two defensemen on the powerplay instead of the four- or five-forward units we’ve seen over the last decade.
Regardless of how it turns out, this will be an intriguing experiment to run and something the NHL will certainly be watching.
1. Stupid
2. Stupid
3. Stupid
How ’bout this one though. A penalty has to be served out fully regardless of how much time is left on the clock? Why not slash a players stick in half in front of the net with 5 seconds left on the clock as the rule stands now?
“Scoring does not end a two-minute powerplay” – That goes back to the 2-minute major days that the old Habs teams used to use to deadly efficiency.
“A goal during a delayed penalty does not negate the upcoming powerplay” – Only if the extra attacker isn’t on the ice when the goal is scored.
“A shorthanded goal will end the powerplay” – I’ve liked this concept for a while, as it rubs the PP team’s nose in it.
Now, the idea of the NHL trying to implement this would cause more chaos with players, and the stripes are over their heads now with correct rule interpretation.
All three are pretty good ideas in my opinion. It will be interesting to see the impact if they ever get implemented.
Omg seriously? Why not corrupt the idea of hockey becoming a (kind of) global sport with knee jerk rule changes for one single tournament…
Yes, we all can imagine how NHL players would react to this rule change if it was enforced by the NHL. But now, think about being a forward in the Swedish league: Weekday Champions Hockey League rules, weekends SHL rules. That’s harsh
Marek has been going on about the third one as well.