Day 2 of GM meetings: OT changes, Faceoffs and more

According to Elliotte Friedman the GM's discussed an interesting new wrinkle to faceoffs:

A proposal to change the way faceoff "cheaters" are dealt with. Now, the offender is kicked out of the circle, but too many GMs feel that's being used as a delay tactic, to rest tired teammates. Instead, the guilty party would be forced to move back between 12-18 inches (still to be decided), making it harder to reach for the puck. A second violation would remain a penalty.

Could you imagine a penalty for getting kicked out of a faceoff circle deciding a playoff game?

Friedman also mentioned the long-standing OT debate:

As expected, a proposal for teams to switch ends before overtime during the regular season, making it a "long change." (Any proposal would need the approval of both the Competition Committee and the Board of Governors before becoming law.)

The United States Hockey League is seeing the percentage of games decided in a shootout decrease after making such a change this season. Monday, Brian Burke was quoted saying "anything that reduces the number of shootouts, I would vote for."

Well, as long as Brian Burke agrees.

Notes from the meeting

– Three on three OT is not going to happen

– Adding coach's challenges is being discussed, including adding monitors to the benches.

– The salary cap looks like it is going to be at $68 million next season.

– Players want to slow the game down a little bit according to the Globe and Mail: