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Chris Chelios was a master at buying a “breather… for himself and teammates. Everything from having a ref tear off a loose piece of tape to creating a penalty based on his penchant for clearing the puck from the D zone and “accidentally… having it go over the glass. Delay of Game has been referred to as the “Chelios rule… once or twice.
I’m fine with that penalty. I like the game having flow even if it leads to a goal against. 60 minutes of hockey, pretty much 60 minutes of something actually happening. I like the second period side swap. It opens up new challenges and can really expose players who aren’t as adept at knowing when to change.
On that note, not a huge fan of a player stepping off the ice, the puck hits the back of their skate and you may end up with a “too many men… penalty. That’s personal preference.
The change to how “offside… is determined factored in to a few goals across the league. I wonder how many pulled groins had to be iced down as players did their best Gumby impersonation trying to make sure the rush went unimpeded.
In fact, there’s possibly just one rule I want to see change. Get rid of the trapezoid. Brodeur may go down in history as the best puck handling goalie in the league. He could shut down rushes and set them up. I loved it. No, he was never a Red Wing, but his puck handling was so much fun to watch.
Apart from the talent set, I think allowing goalies to go out and handle the puck could lead to more goals. We’ve seen it gaffed. It’s a head hanging moment for the net minder and the chirping is phenomenal.
I might also consider extending OT 3 on 3. The shootout hasn’t been exciting for a while for some of us. So, I’m sure some of you have something you’d like to see introduced, shelved or brought back. The most significant I’ve heard (offline) was to remove the ability of the PK players icing the puck. That would have a drastic change, but not on my particular list. I look forward to hearing from you.