Winnipeg Jets player cuts linesman, leads to immediate rule change
Photo credit: NHL
Winnipeg Jets player cuts linesman, leads to immediate rule change
It's not everyday that the NHL makes a reactionary decision to change a rule. However, an incident which occurred last week has led the league to do just that. Yesterday news broke that the NHL was changing a long-standing rule that allowed players to hang their legs over the boards while waiting for a line change.
Effective immediately the league has ended this practice and will now be awarding a penalty to any team caught doing this. This change in the rule stems from an incident which occurred in a game between the Winnipeg Jets and Minnesota Wild last week where a linesman was cut by a skate.
Effective immediately, players can't sit on boards awaiting line changes. A team will get warning first, then refs will be instructed to apply penalty that's already in rulebook. NHL feels it's not good hockey + dangerous. Linesman was cut by skate in Wild-WPG game by a Jet
Going forward teams will be issued one warning before a penalty is assessed. This is just another example of a referee having discretion on when to call a penalty and could create havoc if a situation were to arise in the playoffs when a judgment call gives a team of power play in a close game.
| POLL | ||
20 MARS | 270 ANSWERS Winnipeg Jets player cuts linesman, leads to immediate rule change Do you like this new rule? | ||
| Yes, I like it | 102 | 37.8 % |
| No, I don't like it | 78 | 28.9 % |
| I don't like it, but safety first | 90 | 33.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
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