Mailbag: Game of year prediction, rule changes for 2024-25 season
NHL.com's Dan Rosen answers weekly questions
© Joe Sargent/NHLI via Getty Images
Game of the year prediction? Largest standings points gains and falls predictions? -- @OlSneakyPete
Total guess on game of the year, but let's go with the Washington Capitals against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on April 17, the last day of the regular season. The winner makes the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the loser doesn't. Alex Ovechkin scores his 41st goal of the season to tie Wayne Gretzky's NHL record at 894. It would be awesome if this all came true.
A more appropriate prediction is to say the New Jersey Devils will have the greatest increase in points from last season to this season. They had 81 points last season, which was derailed by injuries (Dougie Hamilton, specifically) and poor goaltending. The latter should be improved with Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen, two proven veteran goaltenders. Hamilton is healthy. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec are a year older. Free agent signees Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon will be pillars on the back end. Tomas Tatar and Paul Cotter will add to their secondary scoring to help the Devils finish with more than 100 points and make the playoffs.
The Carolina Hurricanes took too many hits in free agency to repeat their 111-point season. Gone are Jake Guentzel, Brady Skjei, Pesce, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Teuvo Teravainen and Stefan Noesen. They'll drop, maybe by 10 or more points. They'll still make the playoffs, but the drop will be enough to take them out of the running for first place in the Metropolitan Division. Think third place behind the New York Rangers and Devils, in whatever order.
With the new season on the horizon are there any new rule changes this year/ has there been any discussion about changing the shootout? When will we see the no take-back rule apply in OT? Will there ever be a precise definition of goaltender interference? -- @theashcity
Regarding rule changes, there are four minor rule changes being put in place this season that were approved by the NHL Board of Governors at their meeting in New York City on June 26.
New this season will be the ability for a coach's challenge to take down a penalty for puck out of play delay of game penalty. For example, if a puck goes into the stands after being deflected off a player, a stick, the glass or the boards, and the team that receives the penalty believes it was called in error (i.e. a clean exit, no deflection), a coach will be permitted to challenge that penalty and if successful it will be taken down. However, the risk is that if the challenge is unsuccessful it will result in a two-minute minor penalty for delay of game (unsuccessful challenge) on top of the original existing delay of game penalty.
There is an adjustment to the rule for line changes following a net becoming dislodged. A defensive team will not be able to make a line change if its goaltender accidentally dislodges the net. Previously, the rule applied only to a skater dislodging the net accidentally.
Regarding face-offs following an icing, the offensive center will now receive one warning for a face-off violation, the same as the defensive center.
Ever see players sitting on the dasher boards at the bench waiting to make a line change on the fly? Well, that's not a good thing. It's dangerous, especially for the linesmen, so now the referee will provide the offending team with one warning. If they're caught sitting on the boards again after the warning it will result in a bench minor penalty.
As for the shootout, there has been some discussion about lengthening overtime to seven minutes or longer at the general managers' level, but it hasn't moved forward and the NHL Players' Association has to have a say in that. That wouldn't eliminate the shootout; it would simply prolong overtime and lessen the likelihood of a shootout, but that's not happening yet.
Similarly, there was discussion at the GMs level last season about what to do about regrouping in overtime, which is essentially pulling the puck back into the neutral zone. But that is also just in the discussion phase. It's unclear if it's a problem because the idea of the regroup is to get set up again to attack with speed. There is a legitimate fear of disrupting the flow of overtime with more whistles and potential video reviews if you make a rule prohibiting the regroup. There's no need when last season alone 69.9 percent of the games that went to overtime ended in overtime. It's not a problem.
And, regarding goalie interference, my guess is it will remain a subjective call based on the interpretation of impacting the goalie's ability to play the puck by making avoidable contact.
Where do you see Patrik Laine playing this coming season? -- @chrispudsey
Third mailbag in a row with a Laine question. The first two dealt with Laine potentially getting traded to the Capitals. Let's stick with that theme because it makes sense. The feeling is the Columbus Blue Jackets will trade Laine. The Capitals make sense. He has two years left on his contract, which is Washington's remaining window with Ovechkin. The Capitals want to push to win in that window. That's why they improved this offseason by acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois, Andrew Mangiapane, Matt Roy, Jakob Chychrun and Logan Thompson. Columbus will likely have to retain a portion of his $8.7 million average annual value, which works in Washington's favor. The Capitals received an extra $3.9 million when Evgeny Kuznetsov's contract was terminated by the Hurricanes. That was their portion of his AAV after trading the center to Carolina last season. The Capitals can make it work and Laine fits what they need, another top goal-scorer. Of course, the other side is Washington has to provide a return that fits what Columbus wants. If it's draft picks and/or prospects, that would work for the Capitals.
The other potential landing spot that makes a lot of sense is Carolina, where Blue Jackets GM Don Waddell previously worked. The Hurricanes need another goal-scorer. Laine is that, obviously.
Regardless of the destination, Laine trade talks will heat up now.
Does the Stan Bowman hiring now open the door for other Bowman family and hockey associates to join the Oilers organization? -- @MrEd315
The Oilers, it appears now, hired Stan Bowman as the new general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations in a vacuum, separate from the ties he previously had with the Chicago Blackhawks, particularly former coach Joel Quenneville and former vice president of hockey operations Al MacIsaac. Bowman, Quenneville and MacIsaac were cleared July 1 to seek employment in the NHL after being ineligible to work for two and a half years because of their "inadequate response upon being informed in 2010 of allegations that Blackhawks' player Kyle Beach had been assaulted by the club's video coach," according to the NHL's press release on the matter.
Regarding Quenneville, the Oilers have their coach in Kris Knoblauch. His NHL resume pales in comparison to Quenneville, a three-time Stanley Cup champion coach with the Chicago Blackhawks, but it was Knoblauch who turned Edmonton around last season and got it to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. He isn't going anywhere.
The Oilers appear set in the front office, too, so it doesn't appear Bowman has to do any hiring to fill roles at the present time.
Bowman's father, the legendary Scotty Bowman, is 90 years old and living in Florida. There hasn't been any public discussion about him joining the Oilers in an advisory role. Scotty Bowman is still active, regularly attending Tampa Bay Lightning games. It doesn't appear now that there is interest on his part in joining the Oilers in an advisory role, but one would think with Stan back running a team that his dad would be communicating with him anyway, even if unofficially. Scotty Bowman does not currently have any ties to a team.
