The NHL’s competition committee met on Sunday and has made two rule change recommendations for next season.
None of those recommendations addressed replay reviews or offsides, something that was said to be a focal point of the meetings going into the weekend.
The recommendations that did get made involve timeout usage after icings and faceoffs following a high-stick on the puck.
When it comes to timeout usage, the committee recommended that teams should no longer be allowed to use a timeout following an icing call if they are the team guilty of the icing infraction.
Because of the rule change from several years back that prohibited teams from making a line change after icing the puck coaches have opted to use their timeout if they have a line that gets caught on the ice for an extended shift and then ices the puck. It is simply a way to give their tired players a chance to rest before having to face a fresh group of players from the other team. If this recommendation becomes a rule, that option would obviously be gone.
The second recommendation from the weekend dealt with faceoff locations for teams on the power play that high-stick the puck.
The recommendation reads as follows:
These two recommendations still require the approval of the NHLPA and the NHL’s board of governors before they become rules.
The committee was made up of players David Backes (Boston Bruins), Mike Cammalleri (New Jersey Devils), Cory Schneider (New Jersey Devils) and Daniel Winnik (Washington Capitals). Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Ron Hainsey was unable to attend due to his team playing in the Stanley Cup Final.
The NHL was represented by General Managers Peter Chiarelli (Edmonton Oilers), Jim Nill (Dallas Stars), David Poile (Nashville Predators) and Doug Wilson via phone (San Jose Sharks). Coaches Ken Hitchcock (Dallas Stars) and Barry Trotz (Washington Capitals) also took part in the meetings.