NHL stars band together to abolish the league's most controversial rule

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Axel Williams
October 19, 2024 (7:11 PM)

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Overall, the NHL is one of the biggest professional sports leagues in the world, although it has never been exempt from criticism by both fans and its stars.

Recently, Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman was on the European Media Tour, where he asked a plethora of players what they think about the shootout. As you can imagine, many of them are against it. The shootout has been controversial ever since its implementation following the devastating 2004-2005 lockout. However, the push to get rid of it is bigger than ever.

As per Friedman, players like Sam Ersson, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, and Tomas Hertl all believe the shootout needs to go. Meanwhile, David Pastrnak thinks the goals scored in a shootout should count towards personal statistics.

The NHL has made strides in the past to reduce the amount of shootouts in a given year. For instance, a few years ago, they made overtime a 3-on-3 production, as opposed to 4-on-4. This has worked tremendously thus far. That said, some players believe they should continue to play 3-on-3 until someone scores. After all, the pace of the game during these OT periods is so fast that goals are almost guaranteed within a 10-minute time-frame.

Only time will tell what the league ends up deciding. For this upcoming season, however, the shootout is here to stay, whether for better or for worse.

Do you believe that the NHL should get rid of the shootout? Let us know in the poll down below and stay tuned to Hockey Unplugged for the latest news and updates from around the hockey world.

Source: Sportsnet
Elliotte Friedman's 32 Thoughts