The NHL held its General Manager's meetings on Mar. 18 and discussed many different components of today's game. New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald talked about what went down during the meetings and the state of the Devils.
The NHL held its General Manager's meetings on March 18 and discussed many different components of today's game. New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald was a guest on NHL Network and talked about what went down during the meetings and the state of the Devils.
The general managers had a long list of discussion points, including tweaking some rules like the delay-of-game penalty for shooting the puck over the glass, the offside rule, overtime, and coaches' challenges. Another key talking point was the future of the emergency backup goalie. The final discussion was about a behind-the-scenes documentary that follows 10-12 NHL players.
During his interview, Fitzgerald shared some of the topics that were discussed at the meetings.
"We talked about overtime, do you expand, do you not switch ends. Will that help with delays and possession. We talked about over-the-glass penalties, should we be able to review those".
When asked about why the over-the-glass penalty is so hard to call correctly, Fitzgerald answered with:
"Did it go off something, off a stick, off the boards, or off the glass? So you'd like to make sure you get that right, and if we can review those, I think everyone would be happy."
The NHL is on track to have 70% of extra-time games end in overtime this season, a record. Despite the concern some GMs have about 3-on-3 overtime, the league is still seeing a record number of games avoid shootouts.
The concern the GMs have is that the players regroup the puck too often, and it takes away from the attacking, fast-paced nature of 3-on-3.
Fitzgerald was asked about the Devils and the tough season they've been going through.
"It's definitely been an up-and-down year. I didn't envision that we'd be sellers at the deadline. We're working hard, we're playing hard. We've had some obstacles with injuries, but that's no excuse. I think it's just trying to find an identity that we'd like to be known for."
The GMs will meet again today in Florida to further discuss what they went over on Monday.
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