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Most Detroit Red Wings are kicking up a fuss about the NHL’s new faceoff enforcement rule.
“Brutal,” Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg said. “From what I’ve heard and what I’ve seen, it makes no sense to me why they do it. It’s slowing down the game. It’s almost mocking the game.
But at least one Wing wonders what all the fuss is about.
“It’s pretty simple,” Detroit forward Darren Helm said. “You don’t step on the circle line. You don’t put your feet into the hash marks if you’re a center and you put your stick down.
“It’s not too hard or complicated.”
Helm is right, on both counts. It isn’t hard, and it isn’t complicated. In fact, just as he explained the process, it’s quite straightforward.
Step into the circle too soon once and your center is kicked out of the draw. Do it a second time and it’s a minor penalty.
That’s now in the rulebook, so stop complaining and start obeying.
“It’s a major part of the game now,” Detroit center Dylan Larkin said. “I guess it’s just being educated on knowing what to do and how strict they’re going to be.
“Hopefully it’s consistent and it’s going to be a huge part of the game now.”
That’s the key to all of this right there. Enforcement must be consistent from game to game and from official to official. And as we’ve seen in the past with other NHL crackdowns, often in the long run, they aren’t all they were originally cracked up to be.
“I think when the refs start backing off and not calling it, that’s when it’s going to get a lot of backlash,” Helm said. “It should be a black and white call period. If you’re in, you get kicked out and if you’re in again, you get a penalty.
“If they stick to those rules and have that standard, it will be fine. If guys are kind of letting guys cheat, then it’s going to get frustrating.”
Overall, Helm doesn’t mind the new faceoff regulation.
“I don’t love but I think it can work,” Helm said. “It puts a lot of responsibility on the referees to be consistent and call it. If all the refs are kind of helping out and taking responsibility, it could be a good rule.”
Athanasiou Stalemate
It appears that both sides in the contract negotiations with restricted free agent forward Andreas Athanasiou have dug in their heels and are standing their ground.
The Wings are firm on their offer of a two-year deal worth $3.8 million. Athanasiou’s camp is seeking $2.5 million per season.
Meanwhile, Hockey Night In Canada’s Elliotte Friedman floated speculation that the contract stalemate with Athanasiou could be holding up a Pittsburgh-Detroit deal that would send center Riley Sheahan to the Penguins for a package likely consisting of defenseman Derrick Pouliot and a draft pick.
The Wings must shed salary in order to get under the cap, so it would make only sense that they have a move in place to do so.
Not P.A.’s Day
Another in camp being impacted by the Athanasiou contract situation is forward P.A. Parenteau. If Athanasiou’s situation is resolved later than sooner, there might be a spot on the roster available to Parenteau if he shows well in the preseason.
“I think that potentially could leave a spot open,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill acknowledged. “Not to say that somebody like P.A. couldn’t win a spot regardless if Double-A was here but certainly if Double-A’s not, there’s a spot that was spoken for through our summer plans that’s not spoken for anymore.
“If that’s the case, somebody’s certainly got a chance to win that spot.”
The problem for Parenteau is that he suffered an undisclosed injury in practice Thursday and his immediate status was uncertain.
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