With the NHL general managers meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, this week, expect plenty of serious discussions to take place, though there will still be plenty of time to golf.
There are several hot topics on the agenda, and this week’s meetings provide an import forum for each GM to be heard. Heated debates are expected, though typically firm changes are not made. That can happen further down the road before the start to the 2024-25 season.
The groundwork for any future changes will take place this week in Florida.
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3 hot topics up for discussion at NHL general managers meetings
3. Suspension Standards
All eyes will be looking at the head of NHL Department of Player Safety, George Parros, at the GM Meetings. Many general managers have questions about the standard of suspensions in the NHL. TSN insider Darren Dreger has similar questions for the former NHL enforcer.
“We know that the general managers have questions. They have concerns,” Dreger mentioned. “Consistency is always challenged. Why is one suspension five games? Another suspension is one or two for a similar act? The Department of Player Safety will come under fire [this] week.”
It’s a seemingly arbitrary decision-making process. But finding a better solution would prove to be extremely difficult, one would think.
2. Long-term injured reserve
Another hot topic following the NHL trade deadline is the use of long-term injured reserve (LTIR). Once again, the Vegas Golden Knights are using it to their advantage, as they have in the past. Vegas put Mark Stone on LTIR, opening up $9.5 million in salary cap space that they used to bring in big names like Tomas Hertl, Noah Hanifin, and Anthony Mantha. Should Stone, who has a lacerated spleen, return during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, his contract will not count toward the salary cap, creating a very deep Golden Knights team looking to win another championship.
Stone’s injury is legitimate and the Golden Knights are properly working within the LTIR rules. But it’s not the first time they have done something like this. The Tampa Bay Lightning did the same thing, putting Nikita Kucherov on LTIR following hip surgery in 2020-21 before activating him in the playoffs on their way to winning the Stanley Cup. Though legal under the CBA, questions are being raised. It will certainly be discussed by NHL general managers at the meetings this week.
1. 3-on-3 overtime rules
The 3-on-3 overtime has provided some incredible moments and great action since being adopted before the 2015-16 season. However, teams have been taking a more cautious approach at times, taking the puck out of the offensive zone in order to get a different play set up. Sometimes taking it all the way back into their defensive zone. This defeats the purpose of the 3-on-3 overtime, which is supposed to be fast-paced and chaotic.
One potential rule change could be an “over and back” system seen in sports like lacrosse and basketball. Once the puck has crossed center ice, it can not be deliberately taken back over the red line. This is merely hypothetical, but something that will certainly be discussed this week.
NHL teams and their general managers want to promote a fast, exciting game. Then again, they want to win games and the two points that go with that, just as much. This will be a difficult discussion.