Sometimes it feels like NHL rulemakers are conducting a secret experiment on hockey fans, testing how much frustration we can endure before abandoning the sport altogether. This sentiment was particularly strong during what columnist Jack Todd dubs "Stupid Rules Night" in Salt Lake City, where the Montreal Canadiens managed a dramatic 4-3 comeback victory against the Utah Mammoth despite the league's baffling regulations.
The Offside Review Debacle
During the second period of Wednesday night's game, Juraj Slafkovsky appeared to tie the game with a sharp-angle goal that was subsequently waved off after an extensive video review. The offside call that nullified the goal took longer than necessary to review, partly because the linesman's positioning blocked the optimal camera angle. While a drone camera eventually showed Slafkovsky might have been marginally offside, the larger issue remains: why does the NHL waste precious minutes reviewing bang-bang calls that come down to mere centimetres?
The fundamental problem isn't whether a particular call is right or wrong, but whether such microscopic scrutiny belongs in a game that thrives on flow and momentum. This obsession with video review represents a test of fan patience that hockey might ultimately fail.
The Absurd Delay of Game Penalty
No Stupid Rules Night would be complete without the mandatory puck-over-glass delay of game penalty. Alexandre Carrier of the Mammoth received this automatic infraction despite having no malicious intent. The NHL treats its officials like idiots in these situations, removing their discretion to judge whether a player deliberately shot the puck out of play.
The obvious solution would be to treat these incidents like icing calls - same impact on the game, but without the momentum-killing two-minute penalty. Instead, the league prefers convoluted approaches that disrupt game flow while allowing more dangerous infractions like elbows to the head to often go unpunished.
Overtime Solutions Within Reach
While frustrating fans with existing bad rules, the NHL misses golden opportunities to surpass rival sports leagues in resolving tie games. Baseball uses the gimmick of placing a runner on second base, the NFL has confusing overtime rules, and soccer continues playing after overtime goals.
The NHL already has the most exciting overtime format in sports with three-on-three play, but ruins it with the anticlimactic shootout. Todd proposes extending regular-season overtime to 10 minutes and adopting the Champions Hockey League's "no return" rule that prevents teams from circling back once they enter the offensive zone.
This simple change would create continuous action with few games reaching the shootout stage. Those that remain tied could end as draws except in playoffs, where three-on-three overtime would reward skill over brute force. These straightforward solutions demonstrate that hockey's problems have obvious fixes - if only the league would embrace simplicity over complexity.
