Winnipeg Jets player cuts linesman, leads to immediate rule change

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Josh tupper
March 20, 2024 (7:00 PM)

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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.