GMs call for change on goalie interference challenges

Coach’s challenges for goaltender interference and the ensuing arguments aren’t going away.

There will just be a new place to direct the complaints.

With the goal of refining the consistency of goalie interference challenges, NHL general managers on Wednesday recommended shifting the decision from on-ice officials to the league’s situation room in Toronto. The change could go into effect as soon as the playoffs, which begin April 11, after the NHL Players’ Association signed off and now just needs approval from the board of governors.

“The players want consistency in the application of the rule, and therefore support this proposed change in order to help accomplish that goal,” said NHLPA special assistant to the executive direct Mathieu Schneider said after consulting with competition committee members and other players.

Commissioner Gary Bettman said only perhaps a halfdozen of about 170 challenges this season were controversial, yet GMs overwhelmingly were in favor of a centralized location for final decisions.

“The objective is to be as close to perfect as possible,” Bettman said, noting goalie interference is a judgment call. “The recommended change is intended to help resolve the rare cases in which the situation room and the referees might have different opinions of a particular play and is intended to produce more predictability for our players and coaches.”