There were a variety of topics discussed at the NHL general managers meeting this week in Boca Raton, Florida. While the general managers stood pat on the emergency backup goalie rule, they decided to change one rule. According to a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger, the general managers have decided to amend the NHL offside rule.
After 3 years of discussions, it appears the NHL will amend the offside rule. Skate in the air…or breaking the plane is expected to be part of the change.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) March 3, 2020
NHL To Amend Offside Rule
Current Rule As It Stands Now
Currently, the NHL requires a player to have their back skate on the ice and on or behind the blue line when the puck enters the offensive zone in order to be ruled onside. Since the 2015-16 season, there has been some debate over the rule itself. That can be attributed to when the league introduced video review for offsides.
The idea for reviewing offside came about during the infamous Matt Duchene incident. Recall the officials did not rule Duchene offside, even though he received the puck inside the attacking zone. Not to mention the offside challenge gets magnified even more in the playoffs. Just look at what happened to Gabriel Landeskog and the Colorado Avalanche last season. When the idea of video review was brought into play to review offside, it was to make sure incidents like this never happened again.
However, coaches went a little too far with the offside review. Instead of looking for the egregious play, they would challenge offside because their video team saw a player’s skate in the air. This led to goals being disallowed after several minutes of play.
Changes To The Rule
No longer will coaches be allowed to challenge offside if the attacking player has his foot in the air. As part of the new rule change, the general managers have agreed that if a player’s back skate is in the air or his front skate has broken the plane of play he will be considered onside. This is similar to what the NFL when it comes to touchdowns. If any portion of the ball touches the white line of the endzone or hits the pylon, it is determined to be a touchdown. Just like the endzone lines in football, the bluelines will run straight up into space.
Again this all comes down what the competition committee and the Board of Governors. Both parties still have to vote on these changes. If these changes do pass, this will cut down on offside challenges even more. Coaches are afraid to challenge offside because if they are wrong, they receive a two-minute minor penalty for delay of game. This will help linesman going forward too. They will be able to call a better game. In addition, if the play does go to review, it will be more clear cut whether or not a play is offside or not.
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