The Champions Hockey League in Europe updated its format and special teams rules. Tony Ferrari thinks the new rules should spark more scoring.
The Champions Hockey League in Europe updated its format and special teams rules. Tony Ferrari thinks the new rules should spark more scoring.
Who doesn’t love scoring in the game of hockey?
The Champions Hockey League is trying to boost scoring in the game. They’ve changed their format and altered the rules – specifically around the power play – for the upcoming season.
The league is a European first-level ice hockey tournament established in 2013 by 26 clubs, six leagues and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). This upcoming season, which starts on Aug. 31, it will have 24 competing teams from across Europe and will break from the group format it previously employed.
They will hold a regular season instead of a group stage, with teams playing six different opponents instead of three teams twice for a total of six games. This will allow fans to get a chance to watch a more diverse set of opponents from other leagues around Europe, and it could provide teams with a more competitive schedule as well.
In the new format, the seeding will be done Nos. 1 through 24 rather than by groups. The top 16 teams will make the playoffs. As in previous years, the playoffs will begin with the Round of 16, and all rounds will be played in a two-game, home-and-away, aggregate-scoring series except the final. There will be no need for a playoff draw as teams will face each other based on the overall standings (No. 1 vs No. 16, No. 2 vs No. 15, No. 3 vs No. 14, etc.).
The most interesting changes for the upcoming season have nothing to do with the new format, though. Some significant rule changes are being put in place for the power play and penalty kill. The following three innovative rule changes will apply to CHL games, which will change the game and add an extra layer of excitement but not undermine credibility.
- A team that caused a minor penalty will remain shorthanded even if the opposing team scores a goal, ensuring a full two minutes of power-play time.
- A minor penalty will be served even if a goal is scored while a delayed penalty is pending.
- If a shorthanded team scores, the minor penalty against will end.
These new rules should boost scoring on the power play in a number of ways. The obvious is that having the opportunity to score multiple times on a single power play could allow a team to get out to a big lead or catch up if they’ve fallen down in a game.
The second rule change, being forced to serve a delayed penalty even if a goal is scored, could give teams a similar advantage as they can essentially extend their power play if they maintain control of the puck. A two-minute penalty could easily turn into a three or four-minute power play.
The third rule, allowing a shorthanded team to end their disadvantage by scoring a shorthanded goal, could create offense in multiple ways. Obviously, it would incentivize teams to use their skilled players on the penalty kill in an effort to score and turn their two-minute disadvantage into a much shorter penalty while also adding to their total on the scoreboard. It's a two-fold benefit for the shorthanded team if they can pull it off.
This rule could also benefit the team on the power play, as a team looking to score a shorthanded goal may cause defensive breakdowns. This could give the team on the power play an even greater advantage if the penalty-killers fall behind the play, looking to generate offense of their own.
These rules are an interesting novelty that could make the Champions Hockey League season even more intriguing than usual. How great the boost in scoring winds up being is going to be interesting to track. The entertainment value of these rule changes to one single facet of the game – special teams – could result in some very intriguing hockey coming up.
Leagues around the world, from junior hockey to the NHL, should be paying attention to the Champions Hockey League as they institute these new rules. The NHL has played with rule changes that never made it to the league in the past, testing them in the AHL or pre-season. Depending on how it goes in Europe, the sport’s top league could test them out for themselves.
Don’t expect any change or adoption of the rule immediately by the NHL or other leagues around the world, but if the results are positive for the Champions Hockey League, they could look to try them out in a couple of years.
Kudos to the Champions Hockey League for trying something new. It should up the entertainment value of some of the most underrated hockey in Europe.