NHL testing new rules and rink modifications

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

Make the blue lines thicker. Make the crease bigger. Lines thicker. Crease bigger. Blue paints meet. No offensive zone. Homer retires. Bad plan.

Seriously, though. Pick your poison for a face off partner sounds stupid. No puck drop is anathema. OT is complicated enough as it is. The icing stuff, I can see tinkering with.

Intent to blow needs to go- or at the very least the official must have been in the act of blowing, and an acceptable reason must be given for the intended blow.

Here's another one: competent officiating. Give it a try.

That's my number one concern right now. The intent to blow excuse has not only conveniently screwed Detroit over, but also screwed over several other teams after scoring legitimate goals.

Edited September 16, 2010 by Hockeytown0001

[Offsides 21]

Nearly all of those seemed like they would make no positive impact on the game. Some of them just seem wacky. The whole OT thing just seems bizarre, and I think our OT is already messed up as it is. How would it benefit anyone to start at a whistle as opposed to a puck drop.

As many others have stated, none of this does a lick of good with the officiating being so bad when it matters most.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

A great new rule would be to allow coaches to challenge at least 1 call per game. The bulls*** level on some of these calls has reached a ridiculous level, especially after last year.

[Echolalia 2,961]

I would love to see the intent to blow rule abolished. The play is alive regardless of whether the puck can be seen until the whistle blows. I don't see why refs should be immune to needing athletic ability to participate in this sport. Its a fast game, so you should be able to blow whistles fast.

I would also love a challenge rule of some sort, although its easier implemented in football because they have three timeouts that they can sacrifice. In the NHL there is only one. It would make for some interesting scenarios and bring the coaches' effect more directly into the game with a rule where coaches sacrifice their 1 timeout if a challenge is not successful. There could be some pretty intense moments.

[eva unit zero 271]

I like the hybrid icing with the whistle unless there is a footrace.

Other than that, rule changes either listed or that should be listed which are good ideas:

Abolish icing immunity on the PK. I have wanted this for years, and it's how it used to be. Don't let teams just get possession and send a Hail Mary to your goalie, especially now that your goalie can't play it.

Abolish the trapezoid. Stupid. I get the thought behind it, but it wasn't a good idea then and definitely hasn't worked out in practice.

Eliminate one on-ice official, change from 2 refs and 2 linesmen to 4 refs, which will include the head ref and two other refs on the ice. Linesmen often have views of penalty calls that referees don't, but they can't call them, or the ref will call the penalty when the linesman knows it was not actually a penalty. By making this change, you take away those scenarios.

All questionable goals will be reviewed of-ice by the fourth referee, who then will inform the head referee of whether the goal should be allowed or disallowed and for what reason. "Intent to blow" goals should only be disallowed if the whistle is actually blown before the puck is completely inside the goal. If a goal is disallowed due to goaltender interference, a minor penalty shall ALWAYS be assessed to the offending player, rather than simply "at the referee's discretion" as the rule states now.

Widen the blue lines, based on the center point, so that the zone of possession is always larger.

Faceoff variants; Penalize offending players on faceoffs by sending them back to further points. Allow players to pick their opponent on draws when opposing center commits a foul. After three consecutive fouls by the same team, the entire team is sent to the next dot back (or over, in their defensive zone) and the team the fouls were committed against takes possession automatically, with play resuming upon a whistle and puck touch in the same fashion as a shootout begins.

A team which is offsides is not allowed to change lines, and the faceoff will be in the neutral zone outside the offending team's defensive zone. The attacking team will be allowed to select which dot.

Overtime is extended to ten minutes of 4-on-4 with long changes and the shootout is abolished, OR the shootout goes to 5-on-5 with a team having to select one of their two dressed goaltenders to take the first shot.

[Hockeytown0001 7,652]

I would love to see the intent to blow rule abolished. The play is alive regardless of whether the puck can be seen until the whistle blows. I don't see why refs should be immune to needing athletic ability to participate in this sport. Its a fast game, so you should be able to blow whistles fast.

I would also love a challenge rule of some sort, although its easier implemented in football because they have three timeouts that they can sacrifice. In the NHL there is only one. It would make for some interesting scenarios and bring the coaches' effect more directly into the game with a rule where coaches sacrifice their 1 timeout if a challenge is not successful. There could be some pretty intense moments.

Babcock's death stare should be challenge enough.