NHL Coaches Challenge is here

Along with 3v3 overtimes, the NHL Board of Governors has also approved a coaches challenge for the 2015-2016 season.

I have mixed feelings on this one.  I want the goals to be called correctly, but these situations involve subjective calls.  They are not black and white.  A discretionary call was made on the ice and now they can take more time to uphold or reverse it with further contemplation.

Hmmmm.  Not quite as straight forward as reviewing video to see if a puck crossed the line.

I’ll be interested to see how this plays out.

According to Greg Wyshnyski at Puck Daddy, there are three specific scenarios:

1. A play in which a goal is scored but the defending team insists it should have been whistled dead because of an off-side call that was missed.

2. A play that results in a goal call on the ice, but the defending team believes there was interference with its goalie that allowed the puck to cross the line.

3. A play that results in a “no goal” call on the ice despite the puck having gone over the line because the referee determined that the attacking team was guilty of goalie interference. The attacking team can challenge the play if they think (a) there was no actual contact initiated by the attacking player or (b) that the attacking player was pushed or shoved by a defending player into the goalie or (c) that the attacking player’s positioning in the goal didn’t impair the goalie’s ability to make a save.

A team also has to have a timeout remaining to make the challenge.

Coaches reactions run from excitement (Boudreau) to skepticism (Bylsma, Maurice).  Claude Julien is an ardent supporter according to CBS Boston.

Check out Greg’s article for quotes from the coaches.

Image courtesy of Dan4th Nicholas.