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Problems With New Icing Rule
by Paul on 09/25/08 at 11:45 AM ET
Comments (10)
from Rory Boylen of the Hockey News,
And now this new rule will only put the refs under an even more magnified microscope lens.
“Any contact between opposing players while pursuing the puck on an icing must be for the sole purpose of playing the puck and not for eliminating the opponent from playing the puck. Unnecessary or dangerous contact could result in penalties being assessed to the offending player.”
This is how the league’s new rule reads. It sounds simple enough, but if two guys are skating beside one another towards the end boards, are the officials really going to call it if the players’ skate blades nick? Or what if the players’ shoulders nudge, while they are frantically trying to pick up speed? They haven’t got to the puck yet, so technically they aren’t playing it yet.
These are the types of calls that will get blurred together. One ref might call it one night, while another sees it as too ticky-tack (and rightfully so) the next.
As a KK reader suggested in a blog from David Lee of Red and Black Hockey, maybe we should do a poll. So we are… Do you like the new icing rule? Vote below…
Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Icing+Rule,
Comments
I like the spirit of it. The enforcement, no way.
They simply need to go to automatic icing. I have yet to hear a good argument not to.
Posted by Buddha from Saint Paul, MN on 09/25/08 at 12:15 PM ET
Either make it no-touch icing or don’t. Half-way is the worst of both worlds.
Posted by Paul Nicholson from Nashville, TN on 09/25/08 at 12:20 PM ET
It’s like a broken down car that barely runs, yet the owner doesn’t want to buy a new car. Instead, the owner gets a patch up that keeps it going, but makes it a more complicated and finicky vehicle to run. And then the owner gets another adjustment to keep the same old car, and even more issues and problems arise.
At some point, the owner either realizes that the Franken-car needs to be replaced, or decides that all the effort and costs put into Franken-izing it could have gotten the new car, and out of embarassment or pride, decides to forever continue on with Franken-car
Posted by SENShobo from Waterloo, ON on 09/25/08 at 12:35 PM ET
Ask and ye shall receive. 
I’m with Paul Nicholson. Just make it no-touch.
I’m all for intense, physical hockey. I love big, open-ice hits. I think guys that grind in the corners are worth their weight in gold. I’m even pro-fighting. But there’s a difference between all that and chasing a puck down the length of the ice just to see who can touch it first.
There have been and will continue to be injuries, even with this tweaking of the rule. But it looks like it’s gonna take the broken neck of a superstar (read: lost revenue) for the league to change their stance.
Posted by caneshockeyfan on 09/25/08 at 01:57 PM ET
“These are the types of calls that will get blurred together. One ref might call it one night, while another sees it as too ticky-tack (and rightfully so) the next.”
So…it will be like every other rule?
I’m all for no-touch icing, but as far as the “which refs will call it which way” argument, it’s nothing new.
Posted by GD on 09/25/08 at 02:15 PM ET
GD, read the whole article.
Posted by Mike K. on 09/25/08 at 02:53 PM ET
why all these rules, when a simple no-touch icing rule would suffice. ya, its exciting to watch the players fly down the ice to negate icing is fun…but the reality is that people have been seriously injured doing so. Its not worth it - do away with the ticky-tack rule and just institute the no-touch icing rule
Posted by bsalamon on 09/25/08 at 02:58 PM ET
No-touch.
No-brainer.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 09/25/08 at 04:58 PM ET
I personally like the rushing down the ice for an icing but not at the risk of someone’s health
I agree with caneshockeyfan that it’ll come down to Thornton, Crosby or Ovechkin getting slammed and breaking necks, legs or backs while trying to beat out icing. That’s not good for the game.
Posted by Matt Fry from Winnipeg on 09/25/08 at 08:25 PM ET
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This should eliminate the full throttle off balance position battles that send players awkwardly careening into the endboards. Not a common occurrence, but it happens. I’m OK with the change, as long as they’re not anal about the calls. It should be pretty blatant.
Posted by Nate A from Detroit-ish on 09/25/08 at 11:57 AM ET