There is plenty to talk about when the NHL's general managers gather in Boca Raton for the annual GM meetings next week.
At the top of that list is, of course, is everyone's favourite topic.
"No surprise here that the biggest two topics will be about goaltender interference and offside reviews—the two coach's challenges that have generated a lot of headlines throughout this season," Sportsnet's Chris Johnston said during Saturday's Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada.
The rules surrounding goalie interference have been foggy at best, with several players and coaches venting their frustrations about the unpredictability of it over the course of the season. As Johnston explains, it's hard to say where the controversial subject will sit following the meetings, but the issue of offside review could get a little clearer.
"There's a feeling that we could see a change with [offside] reviews, specifically that's to do with a proposal to have a more liberal interpretation of possession as players cross the blue line and to have their skates in the air," Johnston said. "It's something the GMs talked about last year and it didn't go through. The feeling, as we head to Boca Raton for the meetings on Monday, it could change this year."
As far as goaltender interference goes, Sportsnet's Nick Kypreos cautions hockey fans that it's not a matter of simply letting someone else have the final say.
"Still a lot of talk that people think that perhaps it would move [the decision] out of the officials' hands, in terms of goaltender interference, and move it to the NHL office. They can't do that," said Kypreos. "Much like the league changing working conditions for the players, it would have to go through the players' association and they would have to sign off on that. That's a similar situation with the officials. They would have to sign off on it before it ever got to the point where now the NHL office would be making those types of decisions."
As for other items on the agenda for the three-day meeting, Johnston outlined a few key talking points of interest:
"The possibility, a proposal that every faceoff on a power play is in the offensive zone; that we move to one-minute penalties in overtime and on plays like a puck over the glass [delay of game]; and maybe another one that's sneaky on the agenda: how the long-term injury provision was handled with Marian Hossa, Joffrey Lupul and Nikita Soshnikov. The GMs will have a discussion about that."
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