Kristen Siltonmer17, 2025, 04:14 PM ET
Closekristen Shilton is ESPN’s national NHL reporter.
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The NHL’s operations department pulled back the curtains of the process, assessing how and why calls on ice have been overturned to begin their annual meeting on Monday.
We heard from a panel of League Hockey OPS members who gather at EAU Palm Beach to take action when there is a coach’s challenge to goalkeeper interference or offside. The group reviewed several examples from this season and asked for managers’ feedback on whether they agreed to the extra tier of the original call and rating.
But primarily, the goal was to clarify what was going on among REFs reviewing the infamous iPads in the penalty box.
“If you get on the headset [in the Situation Room]The first thing you ask the judge when you give him an overhead [view]”Is there anything you haven’t seen in real time,” said Stephen Walcombe, senior vice president and host director at the NHL. [look] And dull. And it’s right there about where we’re going [with our decision]. ”
Walcomb, along with Chris King, senior vice president of hockey operations, and Colin Campbell, executive vice president and director of hockey operations, explained what their group sees when it comes to dissecting false and false calls. In goaltender interference questions, there is the kind of checklist that will help you get a consistent baseline to recall your goals.
The league is considering whether the contact from the player was intentional or accidental, whether it happened on the ice (with the goalkeeper’s blue paint or in the white ice), whether the goalkeeper was able to do the job if they had the opportunity to reset, and whether actions by an offensive or defensive player led to some of the contact. And of course, there is whether the referee is seeing something different in the provided replays they missed in real time.
It is often the fine lines that determine how the task progresses. Perhaps that’s why the NHL saw an increase in coaches’ challenges over goalkeeper interference this season, which has already risen to 105 from 88 last year.
Campbell has one theory about that statistics.
“There was probably a really stupid 10-15 challenge,” Campbell said. “We look at each other and say, ‘What are they doing? This is crazy about them.”
However, goal scoring is premium. And getting into the goaltender’s face while trying to redirect the puck in front of the net is often the cost of netting the net. So how does the NHL have the opportunity to stand tall by ensuring goalkeepers without hampering the player’s right to beat?
It’s at the forefront of league decision makers when they’re breaking challenges.
“We told goalkeepers that we would protect them with blue,” said Rod Pasma, vice president of hockey operations. “How do you tell position players when players are trying to score and move away from blue? [with the goalie in white ice], [that they are] Are you doing it wrong? That’s included in it too… And then how much contact is? Is it extreme? Is it related? ”
All of that will answer the judge first. People on the outside lament how long video reviews can take, and how challenges slow the flow of the game. But communication between those eyes in the sky and ice-level eyes is key to receiving the correct call. Usually, if REF sees a new angle, they can tell King and the company whether the coach is right to question their verdict.
But the nuance is everything.
“The goaltenders have to be given the opportunity to make a save,” said goaltending manager Kay Whitmore. “But you need to be aware of whether the goalkeeper can make a save. [Former NHL referee] Danny O’Halloran listened quickly from Jonathan. [expletive] Do you know I’m not going to save it? ”
In addition to coaching challenges, the league looked at unique examples of offside reviews. They emphasized to team executives that part of the process questioned where the pack entered the zone and whether it was possible to clearly see where the pack was located before issuing an offside challenge.
A game stop that was missed – tilting the hand pass and puck to the net above “normal shoulder height” – was also on the agenda.
The league’s goal was to once again highlight the consistency of its approach when making one call.
“Ice calls are [most] It’s important in all of these [situations]” Campbell said.
