Linesman Derek Amell signals an icing call during a game between the Buffalo Sabres face the Winnipeg Jets on November 8, 2011. NHL general managers are discussing the possibility of implementing hybrid icing, similar to a rule used in the United States Hockey League. (Dave Sandford/Getty Images)
During Day 1 of the NHL GM meetings, the 30 general managers broke out into smaller discussion groups to debate different issues in the game today. The two main matters they were keen to put into effect were hybrid icings to avoid injuries in a race for the puck and elimination of hand passes in the defensive zone.
Currently, players can make a hand pass to a teammate in their own end. Some GMs even want a penalty called for hand passes to a teammate in the defensive zone. This, and the hybrid icing employed in the United States Hockey League, will be further discussed and voted on by all 30 NHL GMs on Tuesday.
The USHL hybrid is a mixture of touch and no-touch icing. The linesman has the discretion to stop play if he believes the defensive player will reach the puck first.
If the linesman decides the offensive player has a chance to reach the puck first, he can allow for a race to the puck to continue. The linesman also can side with the defensive player if the race is a tie by the time the players reach the faceoff dots.
"I like it," Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford said. "It makes it a safer play. There are still going to be times the offensive player gets across the line first. You're still going to have some races. I do think that if you bring that imaginary line out further and somebody loses an edge you have time to correct it."
Al MacInnis, Pat Peake and Kurtis Foster all suffered serious injuries in touch-icing incidents.
The GMs can recommend changes, but the competition committee has to approve any proposal before it goes to the board of governor level.
Other areas of concern discussed at the GM meetings:
There doesn't, however, appear to be much traction for any of these ideas. With putting the centre line back in, there wasn't much evidence presented that the removal of the red line has led to concussions. Most concussions occur in the two defensive zones.
"We looked at a whole bunch of concussions today and the red line has little to do with it," Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said.
Concussions
Kris King, NHL vice-president of hockey operations, gave a detailed report about the concussion problem that has infected the league the past few seasons.
He reported that concussions went up drastically from 2009-10 to 2010-11, but that head injuries remain about the same this season compared to last year.
Man games lost to concussions have gone up this year, however. The main reason for this, GMs believe, is that the NHL has undergone a cultural change. No longer are players pressured to return swiftly from a head injury. Instead, they're pressured to stay out longer and make sure they are 100 per cent before they return to action.
"Anytime that number is above one you're concerned," Rutherford said. "We'll continue to work on it."
Ban on fighting
NHL reported that slightly more than three per cent of all concussions result from fisticuffs. There was no desire to put a ban on fighting, which recently has been considered at the junior level.
Even Rutherford, who wants a two-minute penalty on all headshots - accidental or not - doesn't want to see a ban on fighting.
"Fighting is totally different from any of these hits to the head because fighting is consensual," he said. "On those other hits you're not being asked to be hit in the head."
Power plays down
There was a conference call conducted earlier this year between director of officiating Terry Gregson and his referees. There is some debate what the exact message was, but there has been speculation he wanted his officials to not try to be a bunch of NHL senior vice-president of player safety Brendan Shanahan on the ice.
The league denies this, but power plays have decreased from 11 in 2005-06 to 6.8 this season.
There still is hitting in the game
Hitting went up in the first six season since the 2004-05 lockout, and after a brief dip at the beginning of this year, the number of hits has been 45 a game in 2011-12, the same amount as last year.
Shanahan credited the players for adapting to rule changes.
With the expanded headshot Rule 48, has there be an increase in more knee-on-knee collisions and low-bridge hits.
According to Shanahan, the number of knee-on-knee infractions and low-bridge penalties has been similar to a year ago.
The player who gets hit sometimes deserves criticism
Two years ago, with the Mike Richards blindside hit on David Booth and Matt Cooke's devastating blow delivered on Marc Savard, the player making the hit was the focus. Holland remarked that there has been a shift back towards the middle, that the player being hit sometimes deserves responsibility.
"There is a responsibility to play with your head up and on a swivel," Holland said.
He also didn't want critics to forget that hockey is popular because it is a physical game.
"If you want to have physical play, you're going to have injuries," Holland said. "I started scouting in 1985. A 6-foot-1 player was considered a big player. The small players are now 5-11, 6-feet. There are players 6-foot-5, 6-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-4. They're 20 pounds heavier. The better conditioned. They're harder. They're bigger. They're faster. They're stronger.
"It's just the way the world goes and you're going to have some injuries, unless you want to play flag football. It's supposed to be a hard game. That's why the players play the game. They love the hard game."
Equipment review
There was a brief update on equipment. Shanahan and vice-president of hockey operations Kris King have been talking with equipment manufacturers about making shoulder and elbow pads safer.
Radulov ruling
The NHLPA and NHL have agreed that if Alexander Radulov decides to return to the Nashville Predators this month after bolting to spend time in the KHL, he will not have to pass through waivers. The 25-year-old Radulov has a year remaining on his entry-level contract.
Tim Wharnsby
Tim's worked the sports beat at The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Sun, specializing in Canada's one true sporting obsession - hockey. He knows the players, the coaches, the backroom boys and most importantly, the fans. That's what he brings to his stories. Knowledge, fairness and understanding are trademarks of a Wharnsby story. That's what you will get here as he writes for CBCSports.ca.
