NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addressing the media during the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals. Photo credit: Charles LeClaire – USA Today Sports

Over the last few years, the NHL has been criticized for their overtime possession game, something that the KHL is rectifying with warnings and penalties.

While the 3-on-3 overtime session has brought about a lot of excitement and results since it’s inception, there’s a certain play and aspect that has recently been done to death that has many clamouring for a rule change.

To either expedite a line change, slow things down, or perhaps milk the clock to send it to a shootout, players will skate the puck back out of the offensive zone and sometimes as far as their own defensive zone. Those against the play are in favour of warnings or penalties being established for any team that decides to slow things up; something currently in the works in the Russia.

As seen in the following video, it’s our first look at the rule being implemented in a game. Upon receiving the pass near the blue-line, the puck carrier decides to exit the zone but is then forced towards the red-line by the defender. The aggressive defense forces him to fumble his way over the red-line, which then results in a stoppage of play. The first violation will result in a warning and a face-off in the offending team’s zone and the second violation results in a minor penalty and so forth.

The KHL announced earlier in the summer that they were going to test out the new rule in their Junior Hockey League (the MHL) and if the results came back positive, they could see the changes implemented in the KHL in short order.

If this rule were to be brought over to North America, it would not only speed things up but it would also completely change and revolutionize the strategies set out by the respective clubs. Teams will be forced into creating more chances and remaining in the offensive zone with the fear of taking a penalty in overtime – which generally never ends well for the team offending team.

It remains to be seen if and when the NHL would look into a rule change like this, but if the results are positive this year in Russia, perhaps it will make it’s way to North America sooner rather than later.