OBSTRUCTED VIEW
There’s hope for sanity, but not by the playoffs after Frederik Andersen’s Leafs absorb crease-crashing loss in Buffalo,
Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock — and any other NHL coach confused by the way the NHL’s goalie interference rule is interpreted and enforced — can expect some clarification from the league soon.
Bill Daly, the league’s deputy commissioner, and Colin Campbell, the senior vice president of hockey operations, indicated Tuesday that the rule will be discussed at the GM meetings this month in Florida.
“Obviously, it will be a point of discussion at our general managers’ meetings later this month,” Daly said in an email Tuesday. “To the extent there is any current confusion, hopefully everyone will be on the same page coming out of that meeting.”
Babcock challenged a goal by Buffalo’s Johan Larsson on Monday, the Sabres’ fifth in a 5-3 win over Toronto, which occurred as the forward came into contact with Leafs goalie Frederik Andersen.
Babcock later objected to the explanation he received from game officials, who allowed Larsson’s goal to stand after review. Video replays showed there was contact between the two players while Andersen still had one skate in the blue paint of his crease.
Rule 69 in the NHL rules and guidelines governs goalie interference, and has nine subsections. The fourth deals with contact outside the goal crease, and indicates that “if an attacking player initiates any contact with a goalkeeper, other than incidental contact, while the goalkeeper is outside his goal crease, and a goal is scored, the goal will be disallowed.
There was a grey area, even with slow-motion replays, regarding where and when the contact between Andersen and Larsson occurred: in the crease or just outside it, and whether that contact was incidental. Babcock argued that Andersen was not outside his crease.
“Well, what I don’t like is the report that came out from the league is different than what they told me,” Babcock told reporters in Buffalo Monday. “The (on-ice officials) told me he was interfered with outside the paint, which is not true. That is goalie interference any way you look at it … Let’s get it fixed before the playoffs, so we all know the rules.”
Babcock was similarly concerned back in January when star centre Auston Matthews had a goal overturned despite minimal contact with Colorado goalie Jonathan Bernier — after the puck was behind him. Most, if not all, teams have felt they were on the wrong end of calls.
The league’s hockey operations department has been working hard to find a solution to the interference interpretation for two seasons. And it should be noted that the coach’s challenge on goalie interference was requested by NHL coaches, and the league underlined to the coaches that hockey operations had already experienced difficulty in processing most instances involving the rule, based on their experiences in a two-year period before the challenge. The NHL met with teams in Tampa, Fla., at the all-star break and issued a statement asking on-ice officials not to overthink what they see. But confusion continues to surface, in part because the coach’s challenge requires a second look at the call on the ice. And the varying circumstances, and the different officials involved, can make consistent calls that much more difficult.
“We too want consistency,” Campbell said, “particularly in the playoffs, with so much on the line.”
Still, it seems unlikely there will be any changes in time for the playoffs. They first would have to be recommended to the GMs and owners, then turned over the NHLPA competition committee, then approved at the league level. Some players have suggested goalie interference challenges be reviewed by the same group of people at NHL game control in Toronto, for consistency.