The NHL Competition Committe has come up with a list of recommendations for next season.
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A panel of 5 owners and 5 players reached an agreement to have all incoming players wear visors and that current players will still have the option to wear one. This came after the visor debate heated up this season when Rangers defenseman Marc Staal almost lost an eye when he took a deflected puck to the face. 73% of players wear a visor now and many of them switched to a visor after the Staal injury, including his brother, Hurricanes captain Eric Staal.
Former player Mathieu Schneider, special assistant to NHLPA Director Donald Fehr, said,
“I think the biggest thing is that every player coming into the league has to have previously worn one. And we have 70-plus per cent of the guys currently wearing them in the league. Overall, it’s just been a change in attitude.”
The change would take effect next season.
Another safety concerns with the game that was discussed was hybrid iciing. The AHL toyed with the rule this past season and the NHL wants to use it in pre-season play next year to test the rule.
“There are a lot of players that haven’t played with it, may not fully understand it, and I think this will give them a better idea of what to expect,” Schneider said.
The idea of racing to an imaginary line across the face-off dots will be an adjustment, but it would cut down on a lot of potential injuries, however, the idea that a player cannot race to the puck to wash out icing would mean a slower game and could wash out potential plays that lead to goals. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how it goes.
Other changes that must be approved are decreasing the depth of the nets by 4 inches. The idea is that it will create more room behind the net to create chances. The nets have actually been tested for the last 3-4 years. The size of the net will remain 6ft-4ft but would be 40 inches deep.
Goalie equipment will also be looked at again. The GM’s voted to shrink the equipment so that the possibility of more goals would increase. However, and this is just my humble opinion, if they have to shrink th protection for goalies then I think they should do away with composite sticks. It doesn’t take much to shoot a puck over 100mph with one of those and if goalies aren’t protected enough it could cause more harm than good.
Player equipment will be looked at as well.
All four-minute high-sticking penalties will be subject to video review. I think this another thing that will slow the game down, however, I think it will get help curb player embellishment which is running rampant.
Rule 81.5 that allows for linesmen to waive off icing on “attainable” passes would be eliminated as well. I guess this is a way to help players from crashing into each other when going after the puck. I’m not sure if I agree or not. We’ll just have to see.
The instigator penalty for players who start a fight with a visor on is being discussed as well. If all players eventually wear one, then this rule is pretty obsolete.
The NHL and NHLPA want players to be as safe as possible. The game is so fast now and players are stronger than they have ever been. With any luck though, these changes won’t water down the game any more than it already is. It’s still the players’ responsibility to watch out for each other and still engage in a hard fought game. The respect of the game is being tested more now than ever before.
More to come…
