Wayne Gretzky proposes major change for shootouts

PUBLICATION

TJ Tucker
April 2, 2023 (2:11 PM)

SHARE THIS STORY

There's been a lot of talk about it as of late, and it seems the Great One is fully onboard. Appearing on the NHL on TNT, Wayne Gretzky said it's time the NHL institute a shot clock during shootouts.

"You gotta protect the goalies, right? There should be a time clock. Eight, nine seconds. If you can't get there is eight seconds, you don't deserve to be taking the shot!"

Gretzky's comments came from a discission on Evgeny Kuznetsov, who takes his dead time on every shootout attempt, and seems to score more often than not. As it currently stands, Kuznetsov's slow shootout attempts break no rules, as he never stops himself or the puck from moving forward.

No. 99 insisted if someone on a team he was playing with during his career tried something like that, 20 guys would have been over the boards. And if they would have did it against us, 20 guys from our team would have been over the boards.

At this time, there's no indication from the NHL that a shot clock is coming. There has been discussion about possibly extending the regular season three-on-three overtime format to seven minutes instead of the current five. If instituted, it may make the odds of needing a shootout to decide a game much lower.

POLL
Should their be a time clock in the shootout?
Yes, absolutely	38	33.3 %
No, it's fine now	23	20.2 %
Not sure	5	4.4 %
There shouldn't be a shootout at all	48	42.1 %
List of polls