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Devils are ‘unanimously’ against hybrid icing, surprised it passed

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The 2013-14 season will introduce hybrid icing into the mix, which is a nice nod toward improving safety, but it might cause some confusion. For instance: the New Jersey Devils are confused it was voted in.

People from head coach Peter DeBoer to Martin Brodeur expressed their disapproval to the Bergen Record on Tuesday.

“I think it’s a rule that is going to cause us some headaches, for goalies anyway,” Brodeur said.

Defenseman Bryce Salvador believes New Jersey voted “unanimously no” on hybrid icing, and said that just about everyone he spoke with were on that wave length.

DeBoer isn’t quite as mad as the rule change’s biggest critics. Instead, he thinks that the NHL should either go with touch icing or no-touch icing rather than something that’s more of a compromise for both sides.

“If you really want to be safe, you might as well call it like college hockey, international hockey,” Brodeur said. “If they’re really worried about it, why risk it?”

Like it or not, the Devils and the NHL’s other 29 teams must adjust to this change.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins