Delayed offside: When a rule is not a rule

Let me take a pause from the New York Rangers amazing playoff run to go on a bit of a tangent….okay, a rant.  It has to do with the NHL and how they enforce their rules.  This one is nuts.  It’s the delayed offside rule.

We are all familiar with the call in Game One of the Western Conference Finals when Colorado Avalanche Cale Makar was ruled onside when his goal was challenged by the Edmonton Oilers.  Here’s the play:

It was a turning point in the game and has caused a furor in the hockey world.

The simple explanation was that when the puck entered the Oilers zone it was not “in possession” of Makar, meaning he had not touched it.  Makar’s teammate, Valeri Nichushkin, was clearly in the zone when the puck entered, but got back to the blue line before Makar actually touched the puck.   Because Makar hadn’t touched the puck until Nichushkin cleared the zone, it was a delayed offside situation and it was a good goal.

Here’s rule 83.3:

83.3 Delayed Off-side – A situation where an attacking player (or players)
has preceded the puck across the attacking blue line, but the defending team is in a position to bring the puck back out of its defending zone without any delay or contact with an attacking player, or, the attacking players are in the process of clearing the attacking zone.  If an off-side call is delayed, the Linesman shall drop his arm to nullify the off-side violation and allow play to continue if:
(i) All players of the offending team clear the zone at the same instant (skate contact with the blue line) permitting the attacking players to re-enter the attacking zone, or
(ii) The defending team passes or carries the puck into the neutral zone. If, during the course of the delayed off-side, any member of the attacking team touches the puck, attempts to gain possession of a loose puck, forces the defending puck carrier further back into his own zone, or who is about to make physical contact with the defending puck carrier, the Linesman shall stop play for the off-side violation.

All right, confused?  Here’s an explanation from former NHL referee Dave Jackson.

Okay, we get it.  If a player does NOT touch the puck in the attacking zone until his teammates have cleared the zone, it is not offside even though the puck entered the zone with teammates still there.

Call it consistently

So, why rant about it?  The rule is clear and it makes sense.  The issue is it only becomes a problem when a goal is scored.  The simple fact is, because linesmen do not follow the rulebook, teams lose offensive opportunities.  Here is a play from Game Seven of the Rangers-Hurricanes series.

On this play, the Canes clear the puck, but Filip Chytil intercepts the puck and pushes it into the offensive zone.  Kaapo Kakko is trying to clear the zone and if you look at the freeze at the end, Kakko’s right leg is clearly on the blue line before Chytil has touched the puck in the offensive zone.  It was a delayed offside, but it was called offside and play was stopped with the ensuing faceoff outside the Carolina zone.

There’s no way of knowing what would have happened, but the offside call stopped a transition offensive play that could have ended with a goal.  Knowing how hot Chytil has been, who knows if he could have scored?

So, here’s the rant.  This play only becomes an issue when a goal is scored.  Yet, there are clearly instances in important games when a play is called offside when it actually isn’t.

The NHL needs to get its act together and start calling plays correctly.  In this case, it’s practically impossible.  While the rule is clear, the linesman has to watch two things on such plays.  He has to see when the attacking player actually touches the puck in the offensive zone and simultaneously, he needs to see when the player who is exiting the zone (touching up) actually touches the blue line with his feet.

That’s an impossible task and that’s why plays that are onside are called offside and why this only becomes an issue when a goal is scored. It fundamentally means that the NHL is able to accept the fact that incorrect calls are routinely made.  And that is not acceptable.

A bit of advice for our beloved Rangers.  When entering the attacking zone on a play that could be a delayed offside, don’t actually touch the puck for as long as possible.  Remember this play?

If Ryan Strome had waited a second or two before touching the puck, Andrew Copp would have cleared the zone and the goal would have counted.

Keep your eyes on these plays that are ruled offsides, it happens more often than you think.

Is there an answer?  It’s a sticky wicket.  If a player carries the puck into the attacking zone but is not actually touching it, it becomes a judgement call on what is possession.  Judgement calls can be questioned, but it would make the linesman’s job much easier.

Okay…back to the Eastern Conference Finals….