Should the trapezoid behind the goal really be considered a good new rule for the NHL?”
Since the creation of the “new” NHL, rules were tweaked in order to increase scoring and overall speed of play. But instead, the new rules have resulted in innumerable officiating mistakes and the increase of “ticky-tack” penalties. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman sought to showcase his league in a way that would attract new fans to the sport. His idea was to free up the forwards and to handcuff defencemen with new rules. Gone are the days of hard-hitting, all-out hockey, where players were still able to score with a high frequency and the defencemen did not seem to have any problems playing their position skillfully. In the “new” NHL, the forward is favored. This is akin to the NFL moving towards a quarterback-favorable set of rules. Defencemen and goaltenders are left to suffer. One of the most noticeable rule changes was the addition of a trapezoid behind the goal. Only in this area can the goaltender play the puck when it goes behind the goal line. If the goalie plays the puck outsid
