MANALAPAN, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Coaches are challenging goals one way or the other for goaltender interference at the highest rate in six seasons, playoff races across the NHL are tight and the chase for the Stanley Cup is a month away.
Because of all that, video review 鈥� and particularly coach's challenges for goalie interference 鈥� took center stage Monday to kick off the general managers' annual spring meeting.
GMs were shown roughly 70 clips of goals challenged this season for interference, offside or a missed stoppage, such as the puck hitting the protective netting, a hand pass or a high stick. The aim was to explain what the league standards are for goaltender interference and to educate all 32 organizations on how the process works.
鈥淭hese aren鈥檛 black and white,鈥� vice president of hockey operations Kris King said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of judgment that goes into these. ... They鈥檙e never the same. They鈥檙e snowflakes. There鈥檚 a lot of different things that go into it.鈥�
Through the first 1,048 games this season, coaches challenged either a goal or no-goal call for goalie interference 105 times 鈥� the most since 2019-20 when getting it wrong first became a two-minute penalty 鈥� and 60 of them were successfully overturned, which is also the highest percentage under the current system.
鈥淕ames are tough,鈥� King said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 tough to score. Guys know the importance of winning games, and they鈥檙e going to the net hard.鈥�
All video reviews are determined by the NHL's situation room in Toronto, in consultation with on-ice officials. The decisions are made based on deliberate versus incidental contact, whether it's in or out of the crease, whether the goalie can do his job and has a chance to reset and if there was anything done by the offensive or defensive player to cause the disruption.
鈥淚t鈥檚 hard," said Bill Zito, GM of the reigning champion Florida Panthers. "You gain an appreciation for how hard and what a good job the refs do and the situation room. It鈥檚 unbelievable not only how good they are but how hard it is.鈥�
Goaltender interference challenges have been in place since 2015-16, initially at the expense of a timeout like in the NFL, and director of officiating Stephen Walkom believes the standard has been set for what it means.
鈥淲e鈥檙e not far off," Walkom said. 鈥淢aybe originally when we started, there was some differences of opinion, but there really isn鈥檛 now.鈥�
Senior executive VP of hockey operations Colin Campbell, who along with King and other league officials like Kay Whitmore and Rod Pasma are in charge of situation room rulings, thinks there have been some unwise challenges this season, which goes against the intent of the rule. The NHL is set for another high-scoring season, there are more close games than at any point in the history of the league and the last thing anyone wants is too many unnecessary disruptions to the flow of games.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to have some judgment calls, and that鈥檚 the nature particularly of goaltender interference,鈥� Commissioner Gary Bettman said. 鈥淲hen anybody says, 鈥業 thought I鈥檇 give it a shot,鈥� or 鈥業 think it鈥檚 50/50,鈥� that鈥檚 not the standard. The standard is was it really a glaring mistake so that the judgment of the officials on the ice should be overturned.鈥�
What happens far more often is successful challenges for offside: 69 of 77 because coaching staffs typically don't ask to review those plays unless they've seen conclusive video evidence that shows they are correct.
The schedule, which will be affected next season by the break for the 2026 Milan Olympics, is among the topics on the agenda for meetings Tuesday and Wednesday. One thing that is not a formal point of discussion is extending 3-on-3 overtime beyond 5 minutes, something that would need to be brought to the Players' Association.
But with a month left to go in the regular season before the playoffs begin and expected to go down to the wire, all aspects of video review are under the microscope.
鈥淲e have to make tough rulings and we use our experience,鈥� Campbell said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not that they鈥檙e all going to be accepted, obviously, because there鈥檚 passion behind these decisions to make these challenges. We know we run into that and just, with our experience, we hope we鈥檙e making the right call.鈥�
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AP NHL:
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
