Sports Interaction
Promotions
Sports Interaction
Promotions

NHL GMs approve committee’s proposals on hybrid icing, visors

  • Frank Doyle's Author profile. Frank Doyle

Add Sports Interacton as Your Preferred News Source

The theme of Wednesday’s meeting between the NHL competition committee and league GMs was embracing change. During the annual GM meetings, the league’s general managers approved a testing period for hybrid icing next preseason in hopes of decreasing icing-related injuries.If the test period goes well, the new rule could be put in place for the upcoming regular season pending an NHL board of governors vote.

“There’s different types of the hybrid icing that have been used in different leagues, so we’re still going to hammer some of those details out,” Mathieu Schneider, special assistant to NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, told reporters. “But essentially it’s meant to eliminate guys going full speed into the end boards. If it makes the game safer, it’s a great thing.”

In some form, the hybrid icing rule will allow linesman to whistle a play dead if he feels a defender would be the first to reach the puck on an icing call, hopefully eliminating dangerous plays behind the goal line.

“The players in the American (Hockey) League have a good feel for it. Now the NHLers need to get a feel for it,” Schneider added. “I’ve seen it work in every league that uses it and it works seamlessly.”

Meanwhile, league GMs also approved a plan that would eventually make visors mandatory for every player in the NHL. Any player entering the league will now be required to wear a shield, while those who have played a certain amount of NHL games will have the option of whether to wear a visor or not.

“We’ve seen some serious eye injuries along the way here and injuries that can be avoided by simply a player wearing a shield,” Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman told reporters. “Being a manager of a team and wanting your players on the ice for every possible game, and avoiding every injury that could possibly be avoided, I’m in support of our guys wearing them.”

League GMs also supported proposals to adopt shallower nets (40 inches compared to 44 inches), and video review on four-minute high-sticking infractions. Those proposals will now go to the board of governors for voting on June 27.