The NHL's 30 GMs on the first day of their annual meeting yesterday "spent a lot of time discussing ways to change overtime" and "looked at more opportunities for video review and the possibility of a coach’s challenge system," according to Stephen Whyno of the CP. The GMs "broke into three groups of 10" to discuss the various topics and, "on each front, there didn’t seem to be an appetite for major changes like three-on-three in OT or full-scale replay like the NFL uses." The execs were "nothing if not careful even when throwing around plenty of ideas in separate 'breakout' meetings." The "most likely area for change is in overtime," though Red Wings Exec VP & GM Ken Holland "was disappointed there wasn’t much support for adding three-on-three or extending it beyond five minutes of four-on-four." The NHL's current video-review system "works well and gets goal calls right more often than not." Oilers GM Craig MacTavish said that a missed call during a Jan. 18 Kings-Red Wings game "dominated the talk about expanded video review, which included debate over putting in coach’s challenges." Senators GM Bryan Murray said, "I like the idea of a coach’s challenge, but I think if we are reviewing the things that are important then we don’t need the coach’s challenge" (CP, 3/10).
IF IT AIN'T BROKE...: USA TODAY's Kevin Allen writes the league's history "says to move cautiously on rule changes," which might be why NHL GMs "seem to be leaning toward subtle changes to overtime rules rather than a dramatic overhaul." NHL Senior Exec VP/Hockey Operations Colin Campbell said, "There's always a push for a pull and a pull for a push. So we've got to decide what's best for the game in a lot of ways" (USA TODAY, 3/11). Stars GM Jim Nill noted, "With every rule, you've got to be careful. It's a great game. When you start making changes, you think you've got all angles covered and something else seeps into it." Rangers President & GM Glen Sather said, "We've had a track record of making it worse in some cases. It's still a great game" (ESPN.com, 3/10).
