10 Rule Changes The NHL Must Implement To Improve The Game

7. Call all illegal uses of a stick

Remember when I just said we are going to speed the game up dramatically here? Well, not yet. At least not initially with this rule change. However, I was just talking about how difficult the job of an NHL official is and this would make it a lot easier.

Call a penalty literally every time a player makes contact on their opponent with their stick. Sticks are designed for shooting pucks, stick handling and passing. Somewhere along the line, we also allowed it to be used for slashes, cross-checks, and hooks as long as they aren’t too severe.

We call high sticking no matter the degree of impact. Why not do the same with slashing and cross-checking? It often leaves me scratching my head when a defenceman in front of his own net crosschecks a guy four times and the fourth one is a penalty. So, you can do it three times, but if the opponent stumbles on the fourth, it’s a penalty?

There are many superstars who have their skills diminished every time they touch the puck. Every time Connor McDavid cuts to the net, he has to put up with little slashes and cross checks that are deemed fine.

“If we called them all, there’s going to be 100 calls per night” is about the only refrain I hear from people who don’t like this idea. To that I rebut – no, if we called them all, defencemen would have to stop slashing and cross-checking Connor McDavid. He scored 116 points with Zach Kassian on his line and putting up with abuse every time he goes near the puck or the net.

Imagine what hockey’s best players could do if they were allowed to fully display their skills? In basketball, if a player is attempting a shot, there is absolutely no contact allowed. The same should apply in the NHL if they truly want to showcase their stars skills.