The Penguins took it to the Rangers in their matchup at Madison Square Garden Sunday beating the Blueshirts 6-3, but they also gave us rule watchers something to talk about. There are two new rules in the NHL this year. Well, amendments to old rules really, but the point is that there are things that are no longer acceptable that once were. One regards faceoff violations and the other one has to do with smothering the puck.
The League has also decided to step up enforcement on some existing rules. One of those is slashing. Michael Del Zotto of New York was penalized for slashing the hands of Pittsburgh's Tyler Kennedy in the second period for his aggressive hacks in the glove area. In the past, this wouldn't have been a penalty, just a hockey play. Now, this is a two-minute minor. Click here for the video. I'm not embedding it because, frankly, it isn't all that exciting. Like I said, this is something that would not have been called in years past.
Brandon Sutter of the Pittsburgh Penguins was guilty of breaking one of the new rules for the 2013 season. Here's the video.
Not terribly exacting stuff, but still. Under a change to Rule 76.4, centers in the faceoff are no longer allowed to use their hand to bat the puck while trying to win a faceoff until a third player has touched the puck. It's charged as a minor penalty for "delay of game - faceoff violation."Some time later, the Rangers were whistled for a different penalty tweek that happened since last season.
Under Rule 67.2, a player is permitted to catch the puck out of the air, but must immediately place it or knock it down to the ice. If he catches it and skates with it, either to avoid a check or to gain a territorial advantage over his opponent, a minor penalty shall be assessed for closing his hand on the puck. Brad Richards was called for delay of game for smothering the puck under the addition to the rule, which mandates a minor penalty anytime a player places his hand over the puck while it is on the ice in order to conceal it from or prevent an opponent from playing the puck.The video:
These were the only two actual changes to the rule book. Here is the direct language of the rules with the new words in italics:
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67.2 Minor Penalty – Player
"A player shall be permitted to catch the puck out of the air but must immediately place it or knock it down to the ice. If he catches it and skates with it, either to avoid a check or to gain a territorial advantage over his opponent, a minor penalty shall be assessed for "closing his hand on the puck.""Any time a player places his hand over the puck while it is on the ice in order to conceal it from or prevent an opponent from playing the puck, a minor penalty shall be assessed for "closing his hand on the puck." When this is done in his own team's goal crease area, a penalty shot shall be assessed (67.4) or a goal awarded (67.5).
"A minor penalty shall be imposed on a player who, while play is in progress, picks up the puck off the ice with his hand."
Rule 76 - Face-off
76.4 Procedure - Centers:
"Both players facing-off are prohibited from batting the puck with their hand in an attempt to win the face-off. Any attempt by either center to win the face-off by batting the puck with their hand shall result in a minor penalty. This penalty shall be announced as a "Minor Penalty for Delay of Game - Face-off Violation." Once the face-off is deemed complete (and winner of the face-off is clear), hand passes shall be enforced as per Rule 79.---
By the way, don't get thrown off by the rules specifically mentioning "Centers". That doesn't automatically means that a defenseman or a winger stepping into to take the faceoff would be exempt. While the language does single out centers here, it is not the first time (Rule 60.1 - High Sticking or Rule 76 - Faceoffs for example) and the rules have historically been enforced the same for whomever is there when the puck is dropped. Center here just means the player taking the faceoff.
I do wish they would remove the word "center" in these situations because, yeah, it muddies the water and makes the language ever-so-slightly unclear. While I don't realistically see this as a problem, best to fix a leak in the dam now.
Beyond these new rules, other things were discussed back in August by players, the League, on-ice officials, and the like in a group meeting. You can refer to the link for specific examples of each topic that was discussed, but I will sum up the eight things that were the main subject of conversation.
1) Interference (Rule 56)
Defenders should be allowed to hit or bump an attacking player immediately after they dumped the puck, but must release the attacker and pursue the puck or otherwise retreat after the contact. The player falling because of the contact should not have a bearing. A 1/2 second timeframe was discussed as a guide.2) Face-off Interference (Rule 56)
Faceoff interference standards were said to be in a good place meaning that contact between players that was immediate and not continuing once the faceoff was complete was acceptable.
3) Holding (Rule 54)
This too was deemed to be appropriately and consistently called. Essentially, a defending player cannot use their free hand to restrain an attacking player from getting body position.
4) Hooking (Rule 55)
Again, the group decided this was consistantly being called. Players are going to be penalized for hooking when they reach and have no chance at making a play at the puck, but if the puck is obtainable, a hooking call is often not made if the oppossing player is immediately released.
5) Slashing (Rule 61)
As discussed earlier, this is one the NHL has decided to increase their awareness and handling of the situation. Previously, the official had to be certain that contact was made to a player's body and not a player's stick to penalize for slashing. Now, if the slashing motions occur in the area of the players hands, a penalty can be called.
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| NHL.com |
“Those are from (Pittsburgh's Sidney) Crosby,” he says half smiling, but with some tension in his voice. “Every time we'd line up against each other for a face-off during our (2012 playoff) series, instead of going for the puck when it was dropped, he'd hack me across the wrists. I ended up playing the series against (New) Jersey with one of them fractured and had to go for surgery on both of them after we were out of the playoffs.”Just so there's no question, these two don't like each other. The group did not specifically discuss this situation at length, but it is still noteworth as a prime example of what I am talking about.
Again, the NHL is cracking down on slashing near the hands.
6) Broken Stick Slashes (Rule 61)
It was discussed whether or not a slash that results in breaking a stick should be an automatic penalty, but the group felt it should not. It should be penalized most of the time because if a stick was targetted, the risk was high it would be broken and leave a player defenseless; therefore it should be more often called than not, though there is room for judgement.
7) Embellishment (Rule 64)
The group felt the language of the rule was clear and good, but the on-ice officials should call more "Diving or Embellishing" penalties, particularly when there is an accompanying penalty (more 2+2's).
Rule 64.2 – Minor Penalty – A minor penalty shall be imposed on a player who attemps to draw a penalty by his actions (“diving / embellishment”).
A specific example discussed was this play involving Kris Letang, again of the Pittsburgh Penguins:
The group decided that this was embellishment and the call was missed on the ice. They also decided that a warning and/or fine should have been assessed to address this action.
8) Attainable Pass (Rule 81.5)
This rule applies to Linesmen waving off icing. Let me sum it up then give you the nitty-gritty. If a skater can play it and barely misses it and he is on the attacking side of the center line, icing is waved off.
For more details, see below:
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| cbc.ca |
Linesmen were given the following guidelines to follow during a September 11, 2012 Officials' Training Camp:
81.5 – No Icing (Paragraph 6)
The Linesman shall have discretion to wave off apparent icing infractions on attempted passes if those passes are deemed receivable (attainable). In order for the Linesman to wash out the icing for this reason, the receiving player's stick must be on the attacking side of the center red line, the attempted pass must be within reach and the puck on the ice, the player must make a legitimate effort to play the puck, and he must be eligible to receive the pass (e.g. he cannot be in an off-side position and cannot be involved in a player change that would result in a too many men on the ice penalty if he were to play the puck).
Attainable Pass
Icing is called when:
• player turns the wrong way
• player has only one hand on the stick
• player refuses to touch or attempt to play the puck
• the puck is out of reach of the player's stick
• puck is in the air at the instant you are determining whether or not the pass is attainable
• when the boards (not the ice) causes the puck to bounce or skip over the player's stick
• player not over the center red line or not eligible to play the puck (line change, off-side)
Icing is waived off when:
• player touches the puck over the center red line
• player attempts to play it (within reach, two hands on the stick)
• when a saucer pass is used or the puck is passed through the air, the puck must be on the ice at the time you determine the pass is attainable
• the ice causes the pass to skip over his stick
Note: The rule is attainable pass, NOT attainable shot. Player must make a LEGITIMATE EFFORT to play the puck.
Also, it should be noted that the hybrid icing system (where icing could sometimes be called when the puck reached the goal line without being touched, like minor and international rules always do), is not being used. And thank God because it would make a mockery of the icing system the NHL uses moreso than it already is.
So, there's the new NHL Rules for this season. As you can see, I'm not a fan of touchup icing and much prefer the no-touch application.
