NHL approves rule change to penalize unsuccessful offside challenges

By @MichaelCaples –

In the NFL, a head coach loses a timeout if they use a ‘challenge’ and the ensuing review confirms the original call.

In the NHL, the coach will now get a penalty.

The league approved a rule change today that will penalize the team that incorrectly challenges a play in regards to whether a goal was the result of an offside play.

Teams will not need to have their time-out to challenge, however; so while the league has found a way to scale back challenges slightly, teams will be more inclined to use their time-outs.

From the NHL:

The penalty for the unsuccessful offside challenge replaces the loss of a team’s timeout, which had been in place since the implementation of the Coach’s Challenge in 2015. Under the revised rule, a team does not have to possess its timeout in order to issue a challenge on the particular play, nor will it forfeit its timeout in the event of an unsuccessful challenge.

Rule 78.7(b) now will read:

1. b) If the result of the challenge is that the play was on-side, the goal shall count and the team that issues the challenge shall be assessed a minor penalty for delaying the game