NHL GMs Want to See More Penalties Called

NHL hooking, holding and interference kings will be riding the caution flag for the remainder of the season. That’s because general managers want to increase the skill level of the game.

Low scores are a direct result of the neutral-zone trap and restraining fouls that are being permitted. Both were major topics at last week’s three-day general managers meetings at Laguna Niguel.

“We talked about what we might do to give the skill players more chance to play at their level,” Maple Leafs General Manager Cliff Fletcher says. “The general consensus is that there is too much interference and too many restraining fouls.

“The problem is coming up with a workable solution.”

Oilers GM Glen Sather says the NHL should go back to its old offside rule, not allowing teams to shoot the puck into the zone while players get back onside. That tag-up rule has eliminated a lot of delays, but it also has negated the ability of the good offensive defensemen, who face a wall of blockers every time they try to leave their own zone.

“I hate the blocking and hooking and holding when you are trying to get in on the forecheck,” Flyers GM Bobby Clarke says. “That’s why some teams don’t forecheck. What’s the use? You almost have to draft blockers now. It’s like football.”

The general managers also discussed how to sensibly work under the parameters of the new collective-bargaining agreement, the size of equipment appendages goaltenders are using -- Dominik Hasek’s pads, Arturs Irbe’s glove -- and the low-down, potentially dangerous checking tactics being used by such defensemen as the Islanders’ Darius Kasparaitis, the Sabres’ Craig Muni and the Oilers’ Bryan Marchment.

Kasparaitis sidelined Montreal’s Brian Savage, Tampa Bay’s Chris LiPuma and Buffalo’s Jason Dawe before going out for the season with a knee injury. And Marchment’s victims include Toronto’s Mike Gartner, Chicago’s Dirk Graham and Anaheim’s Bob Corkum.

“Interference, holding the stick, obstructing the first and second checkers in forechecking schemes and taking out the second man on a potential 2-on-1 break were all discussed,” Blues GM Mike Keenan says. “It’s all a form of interference that prevents the skill players from displaying their talents.

“We want to showcase the skill players, and that means we have to instruct our coaches to desist in using these defensive tactics. The NBA took the zone defense away from its coaches and the game took off in popularity. We don’t feel we need to make wholesale changes. We don’t want to eliminate defense and make it a wide-open, no-checking game like the All-Star Game. But we can tinker a little and enforce the restraining fouls without changing the game.”

The NHL will continue to monitor the East Coast Hockey League’s rule that prohibits a player from deliberately dumping the puck back into the offensive zone -- a delayed offside call -- without passing to a teammate first. And referees will be asked to call more interference infractions in the second half of the season. That will serve as a barometer to see how many changes are necessary next season.

It’s a fact that expansion would have been a dreadful failure if NHL referees had been instructed to enforce all the restraining fouls that have crept into the game, considering the league added 125 minor league and fringe players to stock the Ducks, San Jose, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, and Florida franchises. Those teams would not have enjoyed any success if their inferior athletes had not been permitted to foul in an attempt to make the playing surface level for everyone.

Coaches are at the root of this problem, and until they are instructed to desist in using their defensive tactics, no significant improvements will be seen.

The Sharks selected forwards Pat Falloon and Ray Whitney with their first two picks of the 1991 NHL entry draft, knowing there would be little or no offensive help in the expansion draft. But it was their third pick of that draft, defenseman Ozolinsh, who became their foundation player.

It wasn’t until Calgary chose Niklas Sundblad and Edmonton picked Martin Rucinsky -- making it five Europeans selected in the first round -- that the Sharks decided to gamble by taking Whitney with the hope Ozolinsh, 6 feet 3 and 205 pounds, still would be available seven picks later.

Ozolinsh was available and has been far more productive than Falloon or Whitney.

The gangly Ozolinsh recorded 26 goals and 38 assists last season, becoming the first Sharks defenseman to top the 20-goal mark. His goal total ranked second on the team and was second only to Calgary’s Al MacInnis (28) among defensemen.

“When he jumps up on the play, he reminds me of Larry Robinson,” Canadiens Coach Jacques Demers says. “He can really turn on the speed with those long strides of his. And he shoots the puck like a rocket.”