New NHL rules
Aug 19, 2005 9:51:12 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Aug 19, 2005 9:51:12 GMT -5
New NHL rules
By TIM WHARNSBY
Friday, August 19, 2005 Page S3
The National Hockey League has laid out specific guidelines for its new standard of enforcement in areas of interference, hooking, holding, tripping, slashing and cross-checking.
In a memo sent to league coaches and general managers this week, Mike Murphy, the vice-president of hockey operations, relayed specific rule definitions and promised that each club will receive a DVD before training camp that will demonstrate the ins and outs of the new standards through simulations and game clips.
After a general managers meeting on July 28, Murphy was asked to establish a written rule of thumb.
"Any player who restrains, holds, hooks, trips, slashes, cross-checks or interferes with an opponent who has gained an advantage should be penalized," Murphy wrote in the memo. "The game will reward speed, quickness, skill, intelligence and hard work. It will penalize cheating and illegal tactics, especially when a player uses his stick, arm or body to take away an advantage by his opponent.
"Stick on stick, body on body is acceptable. Stick on body, if restraining or impeding is not."
The memo outlines the specifics:
Puck carrier. There will be a much stronger standard on hooking, holding, slashing and tripping of the puck carrier.
Non-puck carrier: There will be a stronger standard of interference on the non-puck carrier, especially in these areas:
Rush and backcheck. Players will be allowed to skate freely up and down the ice without being locked onto or held up by the defensive player. This standard will also apply to an offensive player who uses illegal tactics to manoeuvre by a defensive player. There will also be special attention paid to the transition game, as it was felt this was an area of the game when the little hook or hold took place.
Fore-check. A fore-checking player will be allowed to pursue the puck without being held, hooked, tripped or interfered with. Also, the defensive player will be allowed to retrieve the puck without being held, hooked, tripped or interfered with.
Faceoffs. Players will not be able to use their sticks to impede or restrain an opponent from moving freely from a faceoff. Players will be allowed to skate in the path of an opponent, provided they get to that point on the ice ahead of their opponent. This will apply on all faceoffs, in all areas of the ice.
Defensive zone coverage. (A) In the corner: players will not be allowed to wrap (free arm), pin (hold a player against the boards with no puck in the area or ride or lock onto a player with the stick) an opponent in the defensive zone. (B) In front of the net: Players will be allowed to engage and battle so long as they use legal tactics. The stick between the normal position of the hands may be used to fend off or guide an opponent -- so long as it is not used to impede or restrain an opponent from moving freely. There will also be heightened awareness on all cross-checks when used to restrain or impede an opponent, but also when it is used as a tactic to eliminate an opponent from his position on the ice or in front of the net.
- tinyurl.com/883sr
By TIM WHARNSBY
Friday, August 19, 2005 Page S3
The National Hockey League has laid out specific guidelines for its new standard of enforcement in areas of interference, hooking, holding, tripping, slashing and cross-checking.
In a memo sent to league coaches and general managers this week, Mike Murphy, the vice-president of hockey operations, relayed specific rule definitions and promised that each club will receive a DVD before training camp that will demonstrate the ins and outs of the new standards through simulations and game clips.
After a general managers meeting on July 28, Murphy was asked to establish a written rule of thumb.
"Any player who restrains, holds, hooks, trips, slashes, cross-checks or interferes with an opponent who has gained an advantage should be penalized," Murphy wrote in the memo. "The game will reward speed, quickness, skill, intelligence and hard work. It will penalize cheating and illegal tactics, especially when a player uses his stick, arm or body to take away an advantage by his opponent.
"Stick on stick, body on body is acceptable. Stick on body, if restraining or impeding is not."
The memo outlines the specifics:
Puck carrier. There will be a much stronger standard on hooking, holding, slashing and tripping of the puck carrier.
Non-puck carrier: There will be a stronger standard of interference on the non-puck carrier, especially in these areas:
Rush and backcheck. Players will be allowed to skate freely up and down the ice without being locked onto or held up by the defensive player. This standard will also apply to an offensive player who uses illegal tactics to manoeuvre by a defensive player. There will also be special attention paid to the transition game, as it was felt this was an area of the game when the little hook or hold took place.
Fore-check. A fore-checking player will be allowed to pursue the puck without being held, hooked, tripped or interfered with. Also, the defensive player will be allowed to retrieve the puck without being held, hooked, tripped or interfered with.
Faceoffs. Players will not be able to use their sticks to impede or restrain an opponent from moving freely from a faceoff. Players will be allowed to skate in the path of an opponent, provided they get to that point on the ice ahead of their opponent. This will apply on all faceoffs, in all areas of the ice.
Defensive zone coverage. (A) In the corner: players will not be allowed to wrap (free arm), pin (hold a player against the boards with no puck in the area or ride or lock onto a player with the stick) an opponent in the defensive zone. (B) In front of the net: Players will be allowed to engage and battle so long as they use legal tactics. The stick between the normal position of the hands may be used to fend off or guide an opponent -- so long as it is not used to impede or restrain an opponent from moving freely. There will also be heightened awareness on all cross-checks when used to restrain or impede an opponent, but also when it is used as a tactic to eliminate an opponent from his position on the ice or in front of the net.
- tinyurl.com/883sr