Walkom was director of officiating in 2005-06 when, coming out of a lockout year, the league cracked down on hooking and holding. I think all the players, coaches and refs are going to take time to get it right." "Before it was the home team that had the advantage, and then it became the offensive stick had the advantage, and now it looks like they're trying to make it always a 50-50 battle by removing the skate work. It plays a bigger role than people give it credit for." Especially when you start in the offensive zone. Puck possession is such a huge factor in the game right now. "It's a question of who can get away with more of it. "If you're not cheating, you're just cheating yourself. "Faceoffs are a game within a game," said centre Peter Holland. And players considered the best on faceoffs may find them harder to win without the little tricks they've developed over years. "I'm sure at some time everyone will revisit that and come up with the right solution."įor centres, the adjustment won't be easy. "They just want to clean it up, so we have to have an open mind and see what they're doing," said Julien."Right now there's no doubt that if you're six foot five and have the long reach you're going to have an advantage over a guy that's five foot 10, especially if you can't get in close, but let's give it a chance. The league has had crackdowns on various fouls before that seemed to fade as the regular season moved along and vanish in the playoffs.Ĭoach Claude Julien doesn't doubt the league is thinking long-term, but wonders if the standard may be tweaked later on. "In the first period, I saw Phillip Danault take one faceoff - and he's supposed to be the centre," said Montreal Canadiens prospect Charles Hudon. Wingers and even defencemen when teams were shorthanded two men, were pressed into service even though linesmen talked to each team before the games to explain how faceoffs would be called.ĭuration 0:30 Sweet moves, crushing hits, and big goals can mean only one thing, hockey season is here. If a team does it twice on the same faceoff, it is a two-minute penalty.īut, clearly not used to it, players were banished on nearly every draw. If a player cheats, he is tossed out of the faceoff and a teammate takes his place. "The markings have been there since the mid-1990s, but over time, players crept in closer and closer." "Players were coming together and banging their heads before the puck was even in the faceoff dot," said Walkom.
It was widespread for centres to cheat by moving as close as possible to the faceoff dots to gain leverage on opponents. The changes do not stem from new rules, but from stricter enforcement of the old ones.įor faceoffs, players must face their opponent squarely and keep their feet behind the lines. In eight pre-season games on Monday night, there were 49 slashing calls and nine penalties for faceoff violations. "We're trying to get them to understand it's important for the integrity of the faceoffs and it's important for the safety of the players and the linesmen." Stricter enforcement "It was becoming unsafe for the linesmen, with (players') feet behind them. "We just felt we'd let it erode too much and it was time to shore up the faceoff procedure, especially the marks in the faceoff circles," NHL director of officiating Stephen Walkom said Tuesday. And for as long as it lasts, players will have to adjust. It was all part of the league's crackdown on faceoff cheats and slashes to the arms and hands.
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Faceoffs were a group effort and penalty boxes were full as the NHL opened it's pre-season schedule this week.Ĭentres were repeatedly tossed out of the faceoff circles, while disbelieving players were sent to the box for what looked to be waving their sticks in the general area of an opponent's gloves.
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