Proposed OT changes met with skepticism

Players fear ‘wear and tear’ that 3-on-3 would cause

NHL players have reservations about a potential move to use three-on-three play in overtime next season to decrease the number of games decided by shootouts.

“My real concern is that top guys are going to be put in these situations and there will be more wear and tear on them,” NHL Players’ Association executive Mathieu Schneider told USA TODAY Sports.

The rule change, to be discussed at the annual general managers meetings in March, has gained traction with GMs because the use of three-on-three in overtime this season in the American Hockey League has resulted in 74.8 per cent of overtime games being decided before the shootout. That figure is 45 per cent in the NHL.

GMs discussed the idea at length at their November meetings and wanted more time to study the AHL results and consider the ramifications before formally considering a change.

“It’s something that’s interesting and that we are watching, but it’s certainly not anything we have made any decisions on,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said. “Part of it is I don’t think there is a consensus view that there is a ‘problem’ with the current format that we need to be solving for.”

Schneider, who played 21 seasons, said he is not fully convinced that three-on-three play will translate as well to the NHL game.

“We’ve seen over the years that rules that are implemented in leagues below and they don’t always have the intended effect when we bring them to the NHL because the players are more consistent and more talented,” Schneider said. “I’m not sure we would see the same results at the NHL level.”

Current NHL rules call for five minutes of four-on-four play and then a shootout if no winner is determined. The new AHL rule calls for three minutes of four-on-four play and a shift to three-on-three at the first whistle after three minutes. The AHL goes to a shootout if there is no winner after seven minutes.

Schneider, a special assistant to NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr, said his assumption is the NHL rule change proposal would be to stay at a five-minute overtime because increasing the number of minutes played is a non-starter for players.

For a rule to be changed, it has to be recommended by general managers and then it goes to the Competition Committee, which consists of players and team officials. Then it goes before the NHL’s Board of Governors for final approval.

Since surveys show that fans like the shootout, the NHL isn’t looking to eliminate the tiebreaker. The aim of the potential change is to decrease the number of shootouts.

The situation is complicated by the fact that coaches usually play conservatively late in the third period of a tie game because they want to ensure that they will get the one point for getting to overtime.

That leads to more games getting to overtime.

“It’s something that’s interesting and that we are watching, but it’s certainly not anything we have made any decisions on.”

BILL DALY

NHL DEPUTY COMMISSIONER