Alex Ovechkin shares which NHL rule he'd like to change

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Josh Tupper
June 1, 2024 (8:33)

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NHL player of the year Alexander Ovechkin has stated publicly what one rule change, if he could, he would implement in the league.

League star Alexander Ovechkin is spending the summer at home in Russia after his Washington Capitals were eliminated by the New York Rangers in the first round of the 2024 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, with four clubs still in the running. The Great 8 is still thinking about hockey, though, and he wants to see changes made as soon as possible.

During his appearance as a guest on the Russian podcast "This is Hockey, Brother!" this week, Ovechkin was asked which NHL regulation, and why, he would alter if given the authority to do so. In response, Ovechkin said:

"Video replay. Why? Well, first of all, when you watch the video replay, the referees make decisions that are not very clear, whether there was offside, whether there was a goal. Well, it's kind of unclear to me. Now they canceled [the goal], and the same situation at the next game they counted it."

Ovechkin was asked whether he believes video replay can be helpful in certain situations.

"Well, sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. That is, you make a request, you realize that there is a goalkeeper, there should not be a goal, but it turns out that it counts, and if we have the same situation, on the contrary, they do not count. So you sit there and think why do you need it at all?"

Ovechkin's viewpoint on replays is not particularly novel. Numerous athletes and supporters have expressed the same opinion. The primary objection to video replay appears to be the length of time required for the review and the way it disrupts the game's flow. Having said that, I don't think it will disappear very soon.