The National Hockey League’s preseason is already underway and with just over two weeks until the regular season begins, the Edmonton Oilers and other teams are already preparing for the league’s plan to crack down on slashing in the sport.
“If they’re (NHL) looking for chops on the hand and things like that, then I definitely do take a lot of those but I think a lot of guys do as well,” Oilers captain Connor McDavid told reporters at training camp on Tuesday. “It’s something I haven’t really thought too much of.”
But Oilers head coach Todd McLellan suggested the plan to curb dangerous whacks and swings is something he has thought about and that he believes it could help either give McDavid more free range to show off his skills in games or at least provide the Oilers with more power plays.
“We did see that a lot,” McLellan said of McDavid being slashed in the 2016-17 season. “As he’s pulling away… their (defenders) defence mechanism is to reach inside and try to corkscrew it and also we anticipate that he’ll (McDavid) draw a lot (of penalties)… that’s the positive side for us.
“We have other players though who like to use that technique and they’ll have to improve in that area,” McLellan added.
McDavid did acknowledge that the Oilers are an offensive team and that he believes teams who possess the puck more tend to draw more penalties.
“For guys like myself and Leon (Draisaitl) and guys that have the puck a lot, you could draw a few more penalties.”
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The NHL has planned to be tougher on stick infractions like hooking before, but the league’s players and coaches have been buzzing about this latest promise to address the slashing issue. Earlier this month, former NHL tough guy George Parros became the new head of the NHL Department of Player Safety.
“We used to be worried about headhunting and major things like that,” Parros was quoted as saying in an article on nhl.com. “Now we’re worried about slashing and some more minor infractions, you might say. So the game’s in a good place. There doesn’t need to be a huge shake-up, a huge change in philosophy.”
While referees are being told to watch more closely for slashing this season, the slashes themselves won’t necessarily be subject to stiffer penalties. However, Parros suggested severe infractions could be met with tougher consequences than in the past.
“If they seem to be intentful or directed at the fingers and hands with greater force, we’re going to be looking to do something – fines, suspensions, whatever it might be,” Parros said.
“We’re going to try to change player behaviour.”
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“They can’t take slashing out of the game completely, it’s just kind of normal,” McDavid said. “I don’t think it’s a bad thing that they’re trying to get slashes from the hands away because it is so easy to break fingers and stuff like that so it’s definitely not a bad thing to see.
“I think it’s more of the stuff that’s going to get into your hands and that actually hits people in the body and in the limbs and I think that’s the stuff you’re going to see called… I don’t think stick-on-stick stuff is too much of an issue.”
The NHL has also indicated it plans to crack down on players who break the rules when it comes to taking faceoffs. During preseason games this week, centres have been tossed out of faceoff circles repeatedly for faceoff infractions.
“We just felt we’d let it erode too much and it was time to shore up the faceoff procedure, especially the marks in the faceoff circles,” NHL director of officiating Stephen Walkom said on Tuesday. “It was becoming unsafe for the linesmen, with (players’) feet behind them.
“We’re trying to get them to understand it’s important for the integrity of the faceoffs and it’s important for the safety of the players and the linesmen.”
League rules require players to face their opponent squarely and keep their feet behind the lines. For years, centres have been breaking the rules by getting as close as possible to the faceoff dots to gain leverage on opponents.
“We had a long meeting with the linesmen yesterday before the game, just about how they’re going to call it, what they’re looking for – things like that,” McDavid said. “That’s a little bit of an adjustment too but that’s kind of how the rule always was: you’re supposed to have your feet behind the line, you’re supposed to have your stick in the white so I guess they’re just going to be calling it a little bit tighter.”
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Watch below: Videos from Global News’ coverage of the Edmonton Oilers’ 2017 training camp.
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What to expect at the Oilers pre-season game against the Flames on Monday night -
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A closer look at Edmonton Oilers prospect Ethan Bear -
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Oilers split into groups for Day 1 of training camp -
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Oilers Matt Benning talks about heightened expectations from him this year -
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Sights and sounds from Day 1 of Edmonton Oilers training camp
“Players were coming together and banging their heads before the puck was even in the faceoff dot,” said Walkom. “The markings have been there since the mid-1990s, but over time, players crept in closer and closer.”
“I don’t think you’re going to see a lot of tying up anymore,” McDavid said. “You’re not going to see a lot of turns and kicks or using the foot move – I think it’s going to be a lot more of a stick battle than anything now.
“I think (for) the guys that were always good at faceoffs, this isn’t going to bother them but I think it’s the guys who are going to make the adjustment fast enough that will really strive.”
In eight NHL preseason games on Monday night, there were 49 slashing calls and nine penalties for faceoff violations.
-With files from The Canadian Press’ Bill Beacon
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