NHL GMs Propose Changes to Coach’s Challenge, Other Rules

Getty Kendrick Nicholson, NHL

Some rule changes could be on the horizon in the NHL after the league’s general managers voted this week to propose some minor alterations to the coach’s challenge process, face-offs, line changes and more.

The changes were discussed during the NHL’s annual GM meetings on March 18-19 in Palm Beach, Fla., and will be submitted to the league’s competition committee and Board of Governors for approval. The hope is that the rule changes will be in place for the start of the 2024-25 season.

GMs Vote to Expand Coach’s Challenge through Video Review

The most notable change is the proposal that penalties subject to coach’s challenges include delay of game penalties for pucks shot over the glass and certain high-sticking minors. As the rules currently stand, coach’s challenges are limited to plays involving goals scored off a potential offside, goalie interference or missed stoppages.

The GMs want coaches to be allowed to challenge a delay of game penalty for a puck shot over the glass from inside the defensive zone. With the proposed change, the penalty would be reversed if the video review clearly showed that the puck deflected off the offensive team or hit the glass on its way out of play.

The same would apply for a proposed high-sticking challenge, with coaches being able to call for review if the team believes a player has been high-sticked by their own teammate and not an opponent. Currently, high-sticking penalties can only be reviewed if they are double-minor or major penalties, regardless of which player is being penalized.

In the cases of both proposed changes, the challenge would apply only if a penalty was called; if the challenge is unsuccessful, it would result in a 5-on-3 penalty kill situation.

Other Proposed Rule Changes Emerge from Annual GM Meetings

Other proposed changes include penalizing goaltenders for dislodging the net (they are currently exempt in this situation); allowing goalies who enter the game to have a brief warmup period if the starter has been pulled by a concussion or injury spotter; and stopping play if a goalie loses his mask, resulting in an offensive zone draw for the other team.

The GMs also proposed a change to face-offs occurring after icing calls, allowing the offensive player to get a warning before being called for a violation; as it stands currently, only the defensive player receives a warning. They also want to discourage players from refusing to play the puck off a high stick or hand pass, proposing that such a refusal should result in a face-off in the zone next to where the infraction occurs.

One minor change that, for safety reasons, will be effective immediately is the enforcement of rules that prohibit players on the bench putting their legs into play while not on the ice. Namely, any player who dangles his leg over the boards while waiting for a line change — as many NHL players are wont to do — will receive a warning; if he does it again, his team will be assessed a bench minor.

The rest of the proposed changes can only be implemented if approved by the competition committee and the Board of Governors. There is no date or time yet set for the next competition committee meeting, but it typically occurs in June.