New Rules For 201-14 —
Here are breakdowns of the other new rules and changes and language modifications to the rulebook for the 2013-14 season. (hybrid-icing was the first)
1. Attainable pass rule wiped out — The NHL erased the attainable pass language from the icing rule, requiring officials to wave off icing only if a player touches the puck.
The attainable pass rule used to give the linesman discretion to determine if the pass could have been touched. If he felt it could have been he would wave off the icing.
NHL Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell said: The League has on average six icings per game, but without the attainable pass he thinks it could go up to nine or 10.
Campbell said. “The original rule was put in because we had too many icings and they wanted to speed the game up, but our managers felt it was getting too sloppy,” “The managers wanted this to be black and white. It has to touch a guy. They just felt it was too loosely called and it had too many holes in it thrown to judgment, so they said we want to make this black and white, don’t (mess) around with it.”
2. Uniforms and the ‘jersey tuck rule’ — All players with fewer than 25 games of NHL experience are now required to wear a visor. The additional unsportsmanlike penalty for instigating a fight while wearing a visor has been deleted from the rule book.
In addition, the League was asked by the 30 general managers to strictly enforce the provisions in the uniform rule.
This means uniforms can’t be altered in any way, the sleeves must extend to the cuff of the glove, pants can’t be ripped, cut or torn, and no equipment can be exposed.
Player’s whose jersey are tucked in will first receive a warning to untuck his jersey. If they do not comply, they will be given a two-minute minor penalty for delay of game.
3. “Keep your helmets on — Players are now subjected to an extra two-minute minor penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct if they remove their helmet prior to engaging in a fight. The rule was made strictly with player safety in mind to reduce the risk of a player hitting his head on the ice while not wearing a helmet.
4. Language change in Rule 48 — With input from the Competition Committee, the NHL amended the language in the illegal check to the head rule without changing the standard of enforcement.
The rule now reads: “A hit resulting in contact with an opponent’s head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted.”
The old rule included the words “targeted” and “principal point of contact.”
5. Shallower nets — The goal frames were trimmed by four inches on each side, taking eight inches off the entire width of the bottom frame. Many people believe this could lead to more wrap around goals and some think centers will be able to utilize additional space with passes from behind the net.
6. Goalie equipment — The NHL streamlined goalie equipment this season, reducing the size of the leg pads.
A goalie’s leg pads can’t go higher on his leg than 45 percent of the distance between the center of his knee and pelvis. The pads can go no higher than nine inches above the knee for goalies with an upper-leg measurement of 20 inches, which is roughly the average number for goalies in the NHL.
The previous rule, which was instituted prior to the 2010-11 season, stated that leg pads could not go higher than 55 percent of the distance between the center of a goalie’s knee and his pelvis, and that a goalie with a 20-inch upper-leg measurement could wear a pad that goes no higher than 11 inches above the center of his knee.
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