NHL coaches likely will have the ability to challenge calls made on the ice next season, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie.
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There isn’t much more information regarding coach’s challenges. For example, how many challenges will coaches get? Will referees automatically review plays with under two minutes to play, like the NFL does? How long will it take to review a play?
But the real question is what kind of plays will be reviewable. McKenzie mentioned that goalie interference isn’t expected to be subject to further review, which doesn’t make much sense because it’s difficult to make the correct call in those situations at live game speed. As we saw in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, goalie interference calls can have a massive impact on the outcome.
A couple of things that could be reviewable are offsides, the puck going over the glass for a delay-of-game penalty, high/low hits that are penalized (maybe high stick penalties, too) and icing, among others.
It appears we’re in the early stages of this process, but it’s encouraging to see the NHL embrace the idea of coach’s challenges, especially when other sports have implemented replay systems with great success.
