Ask any NHL fan in the league and they’ll tell you: nobody knows what the hell constitutes goaltender interference in the NHL. Some nights you’re allowed to get pushed into the goalie, other nights you aren’t. We all have a vague idea of what it should be, but there is almost no consistency in the league from game to game. At least a few times a week there is outrage online about a call or non-call from a game where one fanbase thinks the refs got it so blatantly wrong that they can’t comprehend it.
And last night was no different with Brady Tkachuk interfering with Robin Lehner, but the play was actually overturned upon replay review:
I was surprised that it was overturned because the NHL typically puts the onus on the offensive player being able to stop before hitting the goalie, plus it has been laughable how many calls have gone against the Senators this season. However, I do think they got the correct call here, even though it was awful having to see Lehner leave the game due to injury. If you watch Tkachuk’s body and feet positioning, he is clearly about to head towards the middle of the ice in order to avoid Lehner, but just a slight push from Brock Nelson is enough to propel him right into Lehner instead.
Sure, it wasn’t a massive push, but it doesn’t take much while going that fast to dangerously fly into a different direction. At first glance it looks awful, but there was no intent from Tkachuk on the play, and I think we need to notice more often these plays where defending players push their opponent into their own goalie. It’s not Tkachuk’s fault that he was pushed, even though he was the one that came crashing down on Lehner. It also would have been impossible for Tkachuk to stop at that moment too.
Debates surrounding plays like these happen all the time, and they are always extremely polarizing, and referees get destroyed for it. Due to this frustration from fans across the league, I think it’s time to implement a radical idea that was once used before: not allowing players to be in the crease when a goal is being scored.
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think it is a perfect solution either, but I would much rather have a clear black and white answer as to what is and what is not goaltender interference as opposed to whatever the hell we have now. The NHL doesn’t need the IIHF rule that says being in the crease at any point is a crease violation, because that could easily lead to too many unnecessary whistles. However, a goal should be disallowed if an offensive player’s feet are in the crease at the same time the puck crosses the line, even if he is not making contact with the goaltender (exceptions would be made for plays where the puck is in the crease, of course). That way, players are de-incentivized to have dangerous plays near goalies, plus fans would know what should and should not be a goal.
Getting in front of the net has always been a huge part of the game, and someone like Tkachuk would be affected by this, but the NHL could also reduce the size of the crease a bit in order to give the players more room. This would take some time getting used to, but if it is implemented long enough, people will soon forget what it used to be like. It’s not as if this is out of left field either, as the NHL had this rule from 1991-1999 before going back to the current system. And honestly the old rule makes sense, because why else even bother having a crease if attacking players are allowed to sometimes make contact with the goalie in that area?
There would be some kinks to work out, and some things would need to be clarified regarding pucks in and around the crease, but the general framework of it would make goaltender interference 100 times easier to assess. The funny thing is, I’m not even as passionate about this proposed rule as I am about other changes to the game, but with how poorly goaltender interference is being called right now, I don’t see any better alternative. A lot of fans talk about the need to clarify what constitutes interference, but the thing is, even with more supposed clarity, it’s still going to be subjective most of the time due to the complexity of every play. With the foot in the crease rule though, there isn’t much left to interpretation.
Then again, maybe this still can’t be so straightforward after all…
Ottawa Senators Blogger • 
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