Your favorite (on-ice) rule change

[rezero]

I feel like eliminating the two line pass has really stifled creativity from the players entering the offensive zone.

Imagine how many more goals Gretzky would have had if they allowed 2-line passes in his era. That was one of the only things that slowed down those 80s Oiler teams.

[Hazelwood72]

I focus on hate.

I hate seeing a great goal scored only to be called back because the offense was offside by a split hair forty-nine seconds earlier. There's nothing better for the viewing public than a five minute delay where the announcers don't know if it's good or not based off of some loose rulebook understanding.

The way they're handling offsides reviews is horrible. Going frame-by-frame to determine whether a skate is a half inch off the ice is insane.

Give the linesmen on the ice a minute to look at replays going at normal speed. That's it. If it's not blatant enough to overturn then so be it. The human eye doesn't work in slow-mo. Offsides review should only exist to prevent the obvious stuff like the Matt Duchene goal from a decade ago:

Agree with you & Balotelli! And I’d give them less time. 30 seconds is enough, and at normal speed.

[rezero]

I focus on hate.

I hate seeing a great goal scored only to be called back because the offense was offside by a split hair forty-nine seconds earlier. There's nothing better for the viewing public than a five minute delay where the announcers don't know if it's good or not based off of some loose rulebook understanding.

The way they're handling offsides reviews is horrible. Going frame-by-frame to determine whether a skate is a half inch off the ice is insane.

Give the linesmen on the ice a minute to look at replays going at normal speed. That's it. If it's not blatant enough to overturn then so be it. The human eye doesn't work in slow-mo. Offsides review should only exist to prevent the obvious stuff like the Matt Duchene goal from a decade ago:

Agree with you & Balotelli! And I’d give them less time. 30 seconds is enough, and at normal speed.

What is most bothersome to me are the plays around the net with 3 questionable camera angles. Why does every venue have different camera configs.

[Hazelwood72]

In addition to my post a few minutes ago criticizing offsides replays on goals, here are my other rule changes I like and dislike. And I’ve been watching since 1968…

I like the elimination of the 2 line offside. Sounds like most of you do, too.

Don’t like the current goalie interference protocol. It used to be if an offensive player was in the crease (even just the tip of the skate!) before the puck got there, it’s no goal. If the puck went into the crease first, then it was fair game to go into the crease to get it and score. That’s the way it used to be and I think we should go back to that. Now it’s the referee trying to decide if the opposing forward was in the crease but didn’t interfere with the goalie. That’s way too subjective. Did a slight brush on the goalie’s sleeve interfere? Was it more than a brush? Where do you draw the line? The old way was clear cut, easy to see and call.

I like the delay of game penalty for puck over the glass in the D-Zone. Although, it was entertaining when Gump Worsley did it years ago with those flat sticks the goalies had. Old Gumper could really get some hang time, but if you sat behind the net, you had to be alert for a souvenir!

I’m not a big fan of regular season OT rules. I’m OK with 3-on-3, but I’d go for 10 minutes instead of 5. After 10, if it’s still tied, each team gets 1 point, just like the good old days. I hate shootouts. The extra 5 minutes of time would decide a lot of the games and probably wouldn’t take any more time than the shootout.

I would significantly reduce the “thigh rise” on goalie pads. (That’s the area above the knee, for those unfamiliar with the term). The ridiculously high thigh rises allow goalies to almost totally seal off the 5-hole on the ice. I’d also reduce the width of the “shoulder wings” of the goalie chest protector. Goalies now look like Transformers. Goalie gear should be protective, but not so humongous.

After my reduction of the size of goalie gear, I’d take a page out of baseball rules and go back to wooden sticks to balance it out. I for one am tired of all the broken composite sticks, and wooden sticks force the players to develop real shooting skills. Now any yahoo with a composite stick can shoot 90 mph.

The addition of the second referee has helped reduce the amount of goon and dirty play, so I like that.

The players are so big and talented now that we probably should go to the larger Olympic sized rink (but that’ll never happen).

And here’s an obtuse one, I’ll admit — not a rule change, but the nets are strung much tighter than they used to be. In the good ol days, the net bulged or billowed a lot more on a goal making it easier and more dramatic for the fans. The current nets are so tightly strung that the puck often rebounds back out so quickly that the refs need replay to see if the puck went in. (And for cripes sake Blues, return the larger goal lights. Those skinny pink things between the glass panes at the Enterprise just aren’t very dramatic.)

[blues2112]

I feel like eliminating the two line pass has really stifled creativity from the players entering the offensive zone.

Imagine how many more goals Gretzky would have had if they allowed 2-line passes in his era. That was one of the only things that slowed down those 80s Oiler teams.

And coincidental penalties being 4-4 his entire career.

My memory is that ot was 4-4, but Oilers were scoring too many goals, so league changed rule to 5-5. However, I don't remember the exact year.
And think if hooking, slashing and interference were called the way they are today!

[Bubble4427]

A few random thoughts....
Moving the goal out more from the boards was a good one
I miss the goals being held in by non breakaway posts....Guys drive so hard to the net now with no fear or consequence
I miss the smaller crease. Players were never allowed in the crease...but if the goalie left the crease to play the puck...they were fair game.
Kinda sorry they clamped down on the cross checking in front of the net during power plays.
I would get rid of the instigator rule yesterday....it has ruined the game. Let the players police themselves. Some of the high sticks, checking from behind, and slashing would cease to exist.

When is the last time anyone watched a game from the early 80's? it was completely different....some things were better, others were not.

[blues2112]

I feel like eliminating the two line pass has really stifled creativity from the players entering the offensive zone.

Imagine how many more goals Gretzky would have had if they allowed 2-line passes in his era. That was one of the only things that slowed down those 80s Oiler teams.

Need to correct my previous response to this, which was:
"My memory is that ot was 4-4, but Oilers were scoring too many goals, so league changed rule to 5-5. However, I don't remember the exact year.
And think if hooking, slashing and interference were called the way they are today!"

Instead of "ot was 4-4", I meant to say coincidental penalties.

Also, while thinking about your post, how many more goals would Gretzky (and those of his era) have with a career of OT, especially 3-3?

[bud white]

The trapezoid.
Imagine trying to forecheck against a guy like Binny if he could play the puck anywhere in the zone. It would be as boring as 3on3 for the full 60 minutes.

It might be good for us right now, but karma would catch up at some point (and you know what they say about karma).

Don't agree with you on this at all.

Trapezoid was put in place because of "The Martys". Brodeur and Turco. And for every goalie that was good at playing the puck, there were 10 who were terrible at it, and 10 more who were just ok. But the guys who weren't good at it thought they were good at it... and that's when the fun started.

You can find countless videos of goalies misplaying the puck outside of the crease and having it result into several minutes of mayhem. Sometimes the opposition scored, sometimes they didn't. But it was nail biting! ("What is Bannerman doing!!!")

Still want to speed up the game? Get rid of the trapezoid and let the goalies wander. Line changes will be an adventure. More fast breaks off of the dump in ... but equally more misplays.

My point is that if you are going to get to the N, and stay there, you simply have to be able to play and manage the puck. Scouts look at that now, and guys are actively working to improve their skill set in that area.

[Boomac]

Eliminate the offsides. It should perk up scoring.

I like the idea a lot but I'm with the other wave of thinking that says if you eliminate offsides then ice hockey will be more like roller hockey - teams going back to regroup for transition, slowing down the play and then not attacking until they get the break out play they like. That and playing one guy 3/4's of the way back and sending him the puck to alleviate pressure.

I wish they would at least extend the blue line by a foot on both sides. Imagine what some of these guys could do with an extra 2 feet.

[rezero]

I feel like eliminating the two line pass has really stifled creativity from the players entering the offensive zone.

Imagine how many more goals Gretzky would have had if they allowed 2-line passes in his era. That was one of the only things that slowed down those 80s Oiler teams.

Need to correct my previous response to this, which was:
"My memory is that ot was 4-4, but Oilers were scoring too many goals, so league changed rule to 5-5. However, I don't remember the exact year.
And think if hooking, slashing and interference were called the way they are today!"

Instead of "ot was 4-4", I meant to say coincidental penalties.

Also, while thinking about your post, how many more goals would Gretzky (and those of his era) have with a career of OT, especially 3-3?

3-on-3 with Gretzky, Coffey, and Kurri would have been crazy. In 1984 those 3 combined for 179 goals (and followed it up with 181 the following year). The opposing team would just hold the puck until Oilers changed lines. Coffey had 40 goals and 86 assists and did not even win the Norris trophy

Interesting you mention the holding and slashing. Could you imagine the whining of today players like Forsberg or MacDavid, if they were brutalized like that in today’s game.

[blues2112]

https://records.nhl.com/history/historical-rule-changes

The implications of some of these changes are remarkable, especially about goalies going down and forward passes.