Hybrid icing is officially coming to the NHL. The Board of Governors voted to approve hybrid icing, and the NHLPA gave final approval after it polled its members.
Throughout the preseason, fans got a good look at the new rule, but what exactly is hybrid icing?
If you are interested, you can check out rule 81.1 in the NHL's official rulebook for a full explanation, but here is the simplest way to explain it.
In the past, whenever a puck was sent down the ice from behind the center ice red line, a referee would blow the whistle for icing once the retrieving team touched up the puck. If the shooting team touched up first, icing was waived off, and the game continued normally.
Under hybrid icing, a referee will use their judgment, and they will automatically blow the whistle if it is a clear situation in which the defending team will touch up. The rule change will give an official more power than before, and here is how the rulebook defines the criteria an official can use to make an icing or non-icing call.
This decision by the Linesman will be made the instant the first pl ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Tom Urtz Jr.
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