Gary Bettman suggests a rule change that would cause more penalty shots and less powerplays
The NHL loves offense, there is no question about that. The league is always brainstorming ways to try and create more goals. Last week at the NHL General Manager's Meetings the league proposed a potential rule change that could almost completely abolish powerplays.
Elliotte Friedman shared the following information during his 32 Thoughts blog.
At last week's GM Meetings, there was a conversation about calling more penalty shots instead of power-plays � something I totally support. That led to another debate among a few of us: should the team that draws the penalty have the option of going on the power-play or taking a penalty shot? Shooters are 5-for- 11 on penalty shots in 2022-23 after goalies stopped 76 per cent of last year's attempts. There are good variables to weigh. Who's shooting? How good is your power-play? Philadelphia GM Chuck Fletcher had a good line, though, saying: «It will be tough to explain to a player if you have a horrible power-play and go that route instead of letting him shoot.
The idea that could eliminate powerplays altogether would certainly change the game completely. With certain players excelling on breakaways you could see teams almost doubling their scoring output. If a team has a powerplay that's operating below 20%, why wouldn't you just try and convert a penalty shot.
How do you feel about this potential rule change?
| POLL | ||
Should teams be able to decide between a penalty shot and a powerplay? | ||
| Yes, that would make games more interesting | 2 | 50 % |
| No, that's just ruining the game | 2 | 50 % |
| List of polls | ||
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