Image via WikipediaThis week in Toronto, the
NHL has been experimenting with some different things to tweak the NHL game. Apparently the dept of the nets is one thing that the NHL is experimenting with. The changes to the nets sizes in the NHL could come as early as this season.
TORONTO -- After using a shallower model over two days at the research and development camp, league executive Brendan Shanahan indicated that the new nets will likely find their way into NHL arenas soon.
"I think that the shallow nets are something that I'd really like to try in at least an exhibition game and see how players react to it," Shanahan said Thursday.
The new design is 40 inches deep as opposed to the traditional 44 inches. It also features a clear plastic strip along the top and thinner mesh -- changes intended to make video review decisions easier.
Shanahan also liked a new "verification line" that runs three inches behind the goal-line and can be used in video review to help determine if a puck completely entered the net.
The NHL Is also thinking about going to the hybrid
icing rule, this is basically the same rule that the
NCAA went to last season. Of course this rule change didn't go as smoothly as planned, there were a lot of calls where the play should have been called icing and wasn't, the
WCHA officials had a tough time with this new rule change and I don't think it's an understatement to say that there was a lot of confusion with the Hybrid Icing rule. I would hope the NHL officials can do a better job calling this than the NCAA/WCHA officials because the NHL officials are full time officials.
The Globe and Mail ---- Under the hybrid rule, the linesmen will have to make a judgment call. When the puck is fired down the ice and icing is indicated, the closest linesman has to determine, by the time the first player reaches the faceoff dot, which player is going to win the race. If it is the attacking player, icing is waved off and the race for the puck continues. If it is the defending player, the whistle is blown to stop the play.
If the NHL adopts the hybrid icing rule you could see a lot less collisions at the end boards contesting icing and it could help prevent injuries like the one that where former Wild Defenseman
Kurtis foster suffered when he was planted into the boards racing for an icing.
Image via WikipediaThis week in Toronto, the NHL has been experimenting with some different things to tweak the NHL game. Apparently the dept of the nets is one thing that the NHL is experimenting with. The changes to the nets sizes in the NHL could come as early as this season. 
