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BOSTON – Commissioner Gary Bettman says the current NHL video viewing system is "a blessing and a curse". There are times when it is an essential mechanism for the calls on the ice to be correct. But in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2019, there have been a dozen controversial plays that can not be remedied by repetition because they are out of their reach.
Before the first game of the Stanley Cup final, Bettman said the NHL would consider expanding the video review when the league's competition committee and general managers meet next month.
"Obviously, what we are doing already might not be enough," said Bettman. "If we want to extend video playback – and we will look at that possibility – we need to find the right balance of how much to use and how to use it without affecting the flow, the pace, and the excitement. Perhaps the most important thing is that we have a system that allows us to be coherent – it's the challenge, it's a challenge that we focus on and we will take up. "
At present, the NHL uses video review to determine the validity of goals scored and to evaluate callers' interference calls. The league also uses it to determine any offside games when a goal is scored. These exams are initiated by officials on the ice, by the "War Room" in Toronto or through coaching challenges during the match.
Bettman said that the potential for expansion of video reviews is a complex issue. He said the league is "very" concerned about slowing the pace of the match. But the biggest concern, he said, is what are the parameters of extended video reviews?
"We want to do things well, but what is the" what "? Where do you go? What is actually affecting the outcome?" he said.
Take this missed pass that left match 3 of the Western Conference final at the San Jose Sharks in overtime.
"What I thought [at the time] It was good if I stopped my head from exploding, said Bettman. I was unhappy. We were all. "
But he argued that if you review a missed pass, what is the deadline to review a play?
"And if the pass passed a minute earlier, or if it erased the area, you can bring it back to infinity," he said. "If we decide to extend the replay, we have to define it in such a way that we do not mess up the game and do it well."
Yet while controversy in playoffs, such as the missed pass, a puck missed in the nets in the Boston Bruins series against the Columbus Blue Jackets and a major ghost penalty called in the seventh game between the Sharks and Vegas Golden Knights seem to argue in favor of an extension of the replay, many players and general managers argue that the review of videos should be reduced. Specifically, they think that one of the aspects of this problem should be that offside games should no longer be reviewed.
The spirit of the rule was to intercept important missed calls, such as the offensive of Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene in 2013, which inspired the rule change. But over time, it was used for meticulousness, with managers counting video pixels on blurry images to determine if a score was played.
Bettman, however, does not want to reduce the video viewing system, although this has been a topic of conversation at previous general manager meetings.
"Whatever your vision of video playback, what we do works well, and I do not think you can go back," he said. "I think this ship sailed."
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said it was more likely that the offside rules would be changed than the elimination of video criticism for offside parties. "I think if that was the case, we'd have to consider changing the rule instead, and then it's probably still a pixel revision, but it might be more user-friendly for the players on the ice cream, "he said.
Post-match analysis and flagship broadcast each night of the season by Barry Melrose and Linda Cohn. Watch on ESPN +
But if the NHL's competition committee – a group of league officials, leaders and current players scheduled to meet June 11 in Toronto – decides he would like to see offside play removed from the system. video review, Daly says Bettman listens "Gary always has an open mind to everything," he said.
Well, not everything. Bettman closed the idea that all calls made on the ice should be open to video critics.
"It's not as simple as saying:" Let's review everything. " The flow of our game would be interrupted if we examined everything. This is not possible, "he said.
Other news from the state of the Commissioner's address in the NHL:
Former Los Angeles Kings defender Slava Voynov becomes unrestricted free agent
Voynov will become an unrestricted free agent in the middle of next season, according to the decision of an independent referee that he has already served half of his one – year suspension.
But his eligibility is more complicated than that. Voynov is on the list of voluntary retirement, there are certain mechanisms for his return to the NHL. This includes the Kings' ability to contract with Voynov, provided the amount is "reasonable", according to Daly, which would give the team additional rights to potentially transfer its rights.
In other words, although suspended players can be traded, Voynov can not, as long as he is on the list of voluntary retreats. Offering him an offer would allow this kind of move, by Daly.
No pre-season matches in China next season
"It does not mean we are slowing down any Chinese strategy," said Daly. "The reason is related to the 70th anniversary of the rise of the Communist Party and Mao Zedong and our inability to make appropriate arrangements in arenas and cities because of this celebration at this time of the year. . "
The NHL has played two pre-season games in China in each of the past two years.
Daly said the league would continue to invest in grassroots and school-based programs to fuel the growth of hockey in China. The Deputy Commissioner said that expectations would return in the fall of 2020.
No change in the Olympic position
Bettman said that the NHL has not changed its position regarding the sending of players to the Olympics. The NHL took an Olympic break from 1998 to 2014, but not for the 2018 games in Pyeonchang, which angered many players.
Bettman said that the IIHF had not communicated a deadline for knowing the participation of NHL players. The next Olympic Winter Games will be held in 2022 in Beijing.
NHL indecisive at the start of the women's league
The NHL lets "dust settle" on the women's hockey landscape before deciding to start its own women's league, according to Bettman.
"Whether it's appropriate or not to involve or create our own league, this is not a subject on which everyone is in agreement," Bettman said.
More than 200 female hockey players have announced that they would not play in a league next season as long as a more viable and sustainable league would not be created. The NHL has already said it does not want to interfere with existing leagues. There is currently a women's professional league in North America, the NWHL, and Bettman has alluded to rumors that another league could see the light of day.
The NHL has invited female hockey players to the 2019 all-star game, and the NHL helped to host the Canada-US series last year. Bettman said the league would continue to support "unique solutions" such as this one as it explores the opportunity to get involved more meaningfully.
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