Over the past while the love affair in Canada with the NHL has resulted in extra coverage in sports sections across the country and hockey being sure to lead the sports news (though again we are still “banned” from ESPN). So while I have decided not to turn this article into one about why I dislike the shootout, I instead focus on what I think is the best new rule in the NHL. It is rule 17, note 1 which does not allow teams to change players after icing the puck.

While this might seem like a relatively small change if you do not play hockey, those who have ever spent a night trying to get off the ice with a short bench would notice the difference. Not being able to change after an icing has caused players to realize that they cannot simply blister a slapshot down the ice in order to grab a quick whistle and get a breather. More importantly, it has stopped coaches from being able to order their players to get a quick whistle so that they can match lines with the opposing team.

The end to end play we are seeing in the NHL is not only a result of the league getting rid of the red line, in my mind, it is equally if not more important that teams simply cannot ice the puck anymore.