Hockey fan’s guide to understanding NHL’s goalie interference challenges
MANALAPAN, Fla. — Next time you are relaxing on your couch or killing time in your seat at an NHL arena during a coach’s challenge for goaltender interference, and you’re unsure of how it’s going to turn out, you can bookmark this handy reference guide for clues.
The NHL’s hockey operations department quizzed GMs over the course of two days at this week’s General Managers Meeting in South Florida to check their compass and iron out any confusion or perceived inconsistencies.
Out of 54 decisions reviewed with video, the GMs voted the NHL’s Situation Room in Toronto made the correct call 52 times. Even the two calls deemed to be incorrect in the eyes of GMs had a split vote of 19-13.
“Those were the 54 most difficult calls that they had to make,” commissioner Gary Bettman explained. “Yes, it is a judgment call, but overwhelmingly the managers believe hockey ops has been consistent. It’s about consistency and the managers understand full well [the approach].”
With that, here are some questions the Situation Room asks as part of their checklist when determining whether or not there was goaltender interference on a goal:
Goalie Interference Checklist
1. Did contact occur within the crease’s blue paint or in white ice?
This is the first and seemingly by far most important question. The NHL has made it clear that they plan to protect goalies while they are in their creases. Former NHL goaltender Kay Whitmore is one of the four men responsible for making final calls in the Situation Room all season long, and they’ve made their stance clear.
“You’re going to give the goalie the benefit of the doubt when he’s in the blue,” Whitmore said. “If the contact comes when the goalie is trying to reach out into the white and the [player] is standing in front of the net doing his job, the player is probably going to get the benefit.”
In the league’s eyes, a player can enter the crease to make a play so long as he does not impede the goaltender’s ability to make a save. And if contact occurs with the goaltender while he is set outside of the crease to challenge a shot, that likely won’t be enough to overturn a goal.
Keep an eye on players bumping a goaltender’s head, glove or stick while in the crease. If that occurs, even if it’s a slight bump, it’s likely the goal will be overturned.
2. Was contact deemed to be deliberate or incidental?
Most likely, if the contact was deemed to be deliberate, the call on the ice from the referee would be no goal based on his judgment in real time.
The stats show it’s very hard to overturn a ‘no goal’ call.
“The presumption is you go with the call on the ice unless you have a sound reason for overturning it,” Bettman said. “A sound reason meaning you believe it was conclusively wrong.”
3. Did the goalie have a chance to reset? Can the goalie do his job?
The Situation Room does not have a specific number of seconds or fractions of seconds that it would deem acceptable for a goaltender to reset his position in time for a save after contact occurred. It is all within reason – and may be dependent on where the next shot is coming from or how far he must move to make a save.
“It’s how much is the right amount,” Whitmore said.
4. Did the actions of the offensive or defensive player impact the contact?
If a defending player pushed or shoved an opponent into the goaltender, that lessens the odds that a goal will be overturned. The Situation Room keeps a close eye on what’s happening around the goaltender in the sequence prior to the puck entering the net, and his teammates can have a big impact.
Next Steps and Evolution
Undoubtedly, there will be push and pull. The NHL is cognizant that the conversation may evolve if GMs feel goaltenders are being overprotected. And we’ve seen certain instances so far where goaltenders are sensing the protection within their crease and are testing the limits in seemingly purposefully getting tangled with players in front with their sticks.
“The goaltenders’ union, they’re always hollering,” said NHL senior executive vice-president and director of hockey operations Colin Campbell. “They want more protection. … We’ve got to give goaltenders some protection, but we don’t want to overprotect them. We’ve had debates in there. At some points in time, we differ.”
For now, though, the NHL’s view of goaltender interference in particular was affirmed by the GMs. Their compass is straight, according to the stewards of the game.
“We’re looking at a pretty specific set of guidelines,” said NHL senior vice-president of hockey operations Kris King. “Where’s the contact? Does he go in on his own? Does it impair his ability to make a save or play his position in the crease? It might be light contact, it might not be heavy contact. But at the end of the day to stay consistent, if it hits all three of those boxes, we’re going no goal.”
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