NHL gamers have long had to deal with puck raggers across any game mode in NHL 23 and past installments. For those who are unaware, puck ragging involves a player holding the puck in their own end, passing the puck around to ensure that they always have the puck. If a player were to push them, you simply do whatever you can to maintain possession. This is a tactic often used when a player is in the lead, wasting time and giving the opponent less time to try and mount a comeback.
In NHL 24 however, players will no longer be able to do such tactics.
In a tweet from NHL 23 World Championship finalist "Eki", he reveals that players will now be penalized for ragging the puck in the defensive and neutral zones. In the gameplay video he tweeted, he brings the puck into his defensive zone and holds onto it from the puck drop onwards. At 16:55, a whistle is blown and the last player to touch the puck is given a two minute minor penalty for delay of game. At the time of writing, the tweet has over 1,400 likes on X.com, while the 87 replies to the tweet mostly praise the decision to add this to the game. Below are just some examples of what gamers have been saying about this addition.
This was revealed to us as a result of content creators, design council members, and others involved with NHL 24 testing being given the green light to post gameplay content filmed during NHL24 Community Day.
Overall, this is a positive change coming to NHL 24. No longer will people be able to "cheese" the game by puck ragging in an unrealistic way, allowing games to truly be played at a more competitive level. For those who do puck rag, consider getting to the blue line and dumping the puck from now on, as this will be one of the best ways to legitimately kill the clock in NHL 24.