Insider Trading: Are playoffs the right time to implement puck tracking?

They talked about it for a number of years. But finally, they’re going to make a recommendation to the competition committee, Pierre, about offsides. And (they are going to) say that whether your foot is on the ice or off the ice, at the time of the review, it’s not going to matter.

LeBrun: That’s right. And listen, there’s a long history at this GMs’ meeting of failing the first time around but sticking with it. That’s what Colin Campbell and the National Hockey League did here. He got rejected on this tweak three years ago, but now he gets his way. He got help from Steve Yzerman, GM of the Detroit Red Wings, who spoke to the room about this about wanting this change. He also got help from the information that really helped send a message. There were 14 goals taken off the board this year because of the skate in the air. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s a positive hockey play. It will change next year.

Seravalli: Another item on the agenda today was puck and player tracking. And so the big thing for me moving forward as this is introduced for the start of the playoffs, is the integrity of the puck. So far, all the testing has revealed that there is no ill effects. This puck is coming out of a puck cannon, hitting the wall at 170 mph, but it hasn’t been the true test so far. Because you aren’t having the first impact off of a player’s stick. So far, they’ve tested this in nine NHL games and the players have not reported any feedback. But this is what everyone has their eyes on as we move towards the critical portion of [the] schedule. How does the puck react in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a sensitive piece of electronic equipment in there for the first time? Not only that, but do players notice a difference? You’re literally changing the fabric of the game by introducing a new puck. A guy like Sidney Crosby has had it in his hands, and he’s already noticed a difference in the edging, perhaps. The weight of it is another thing. So, they think they have a puck that is close to the real deal, but still, there’s going to be a bit of a difference and it’s an important time of the year.

Dreger: No question about that. The timing of the introduction is sketchy. There are whispers of concerns and some who believe they would have been more comfortable if it had been announced and implemented at the start of the regular season so everybody kind of grows with that technology. And speaking about some of the feedback that should come from the player tracking services, could their be a negative twist to this? We all know that coaches like to tweak and coach defensive side of things. Likewise with general managers. So, we’re looking down the road. But there could be some drawbacks.

The league is concerned about the lacerations that are happening and they’re wanting players to be aware of the protection that is available to them.

Dreger: And there is protective equipment available. And Rod Pasma who is the Executive VP of Hockey Operations is delivering some of that equipment to all NHL clubs later this week. Primarily they are focusing on wrist guards right now. There have been multiple lacerations, you’re right. Perhaps the most signficant (is) Ilya Mikheyev of the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this season who has been out for months. So, if the technology is available, maybe you can’t make it mandatory for NHL. But Kyle Dubas of the Toronto Maple Leafs says the Toronto Marlies will be forced to wear that wrist protection.

Pierre, some talk about social media. What’s the headline message from the league to the teams and the players about social media?

LeBrun: You know, two GMs unsolicited told me today that the most fascinating part of the meetings is the social media presentation and that they really learned a lot. And listen, that’s a pretty conservative group of human beings in that room. The 31 GMs are not exactly the Twitter kings. So the message was that hockey is lagging behind the other sports and that there has to be a way to get the personalties of the players more in the forefront. One GM said I’m going right back to my front office to talk about this.

If anyone was wondering about the future of Habs coach Claude Julien, general manager Marc Bergevin coming out and saying he would be back next season. He was a little surprised he had to take that question. But that also was news today on Day 2 of the NHL GM meetings.