The penalty shot (which originated in the 1934-35 season as a shot taken from inside the circle 38 feet from the goal and was modified to allow the puck carrier to skate in before shooting in 1938-39) hasn’t changed much over the years in the NHL. The last change was in 1961-62, when it was decided that the penalty shot needed to be taken by the player who was fouled (or any player on the ice if a specific player has not been fouled).

Although I’m sure most people would say there’s no reason to change the way the penalty shot is awarded or how it works, I can’t help wondering if there is a problem with the way the penalty shot works. I’m sure that the NHL has no plans to change penalty shots, but I was wondering if anyone agrees with me that a penalty shot can be worse than a regular penalty. In a normal penalty, the entire team has a 2 minute power play to try to score the goal that might have been scored when the player in question was fouled. In a penalty shot situation, the player fouled is the only one who can score the goal when he gets a chance to take the penalty shot.

As Nagy was the first player on the Kings to miss a penalty shot since Avery missed one on January 17, 2006, it made me think about how the penalty shot works (or doesn’t work) for the team that was awarded the shot. Sometimes, the player in question is not strong enough in a penalty shot situation, but could have scored when the goalie was caught off guard in the breakaway.

I’ve often wondered why the penalty shot is so black and white. If the shot is missed, that’s it. On one hand, I see how this makes sense – the player in question is the only one who had the puck and was hooked or in some other way prevented from getting a quality shot off when they had a breakaway and were headed towards the net. However, in the breakaway situation, the goaltender is unprepared and in a shootout the goalie has time to prepare. Is that a fair trade? Is the team awarded the penalty shot cheated a little by the lack of a power play? Do you think it’s better for a team to be awarded the penalty shot opportunity or the power play?

Kat

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