The NHL's new threat to crack down on obstruction is all right with Blackhawks coach Brian Sutter. In fact, Sutter believes a team with speed such as the Hawks will benefit from the tighter officiating.
"The teams that are hurt are the teams that don't skate very well," Sutter said. "They're the teams that don't work as hard. We've got an excellent skating team.
"You know what obstruction is? It's the team that when skating back to their net, they're lazy doing it. If you're skating and moving your feet these penalties are not going to be called. If you're not using your feet, then you start using your elbows and your arms and your stick. That's where penalties are going to be called."
Getting a lot of the hooking, holding, clutching and grabbing out of the game to increase flow and make for more offense has been a never ending battle for the league. Referees have been instructed to call it tighter before, especially in the preseason, only to relax the rules later on. Veterans such as Theo Fleury hope the league is serious this time about calling obstruction.
"As hockey players we're trained to react and not to think," said Fleury. "The more strict they are and the more they call it, the more we're going to become accustomed to it and be able to react to the situation.
"It comes down to hard work. If you fight through it and you use your speed and your legs, then they have to call it. But if a referee sees you're not really trying to work through it and get through it, he's not going to call it."
Hurry it up: According to Brian Sutter, referees have been instructed by the league to call minor penalties on teams that are warned twice about not being ready for a faceoff after 20 seconds, per the new rules.
Also this season, if a team has two players kicked out of a faceoff for any reason a minor penalty is supposed to result.
"The teams that are hurt are the teams that don't skate very well," Sutter said. "They're the teams that don't work as hard. We've got an excellent skating team.
"You know what obstruction is? It's the team that when skating back to their net, they're lazy doing it. If you're skating and moving your feet these penalties are not going to be called. If you're not using your feet, then you start using your elbows and your arms and your stick. That's where penalties are going to be called."
Getting a lot of the hooking, holding, clutching and grabbing out of the game to increase flow and make for more offense has been a never ending battle for the league. Referees have been instructed to call it tighter before, especially in the preseason, only to relax the rules later on. Veterans such as Theo Fleury hope the league is serious this time about calling obstruction.
"As hockey players we're trained to react and not to think," said Fleury. "The more strict they are and the more they call it, the more we're going to become accustomed to it and be able to react to the situation.
"It comes down to hard work. If you fight through it and you use your speed and your legs, then they have to call it. But if a referee sees you're not really trying to work through it and get through it, he's not going to call it."
Hurry it up: According to Brian Sutter, referees have been instructed by the league to call minor penalties on teams that are warned twice about not being ready for a faceoff after 20 seconds, per the new rules.
Also this season, if a team has two players kicked out of a faceoff for any reason a minor penalty is supposed to result.
