General Managers Have Lots to Discuss in Abbreviated Meeting

On Wednesday, NHL General Managers will be meeting together for the first time in this shortened season. It will be a one-day, 6 hour meeting. Usually they will meet twice a season, for two-day sessions.

They have a lot to talk about.

There has been a lot of discussion on what the main topics will be, but the three that seem most likely to me are the structure of overtime, mandatory gear, and, of course, trades. 

Shootouts are one of the most stressful, entertaining parts of hockey. But some GMs aren't in favor of it. 

“I’d like to have a little longer overtime,” Ken Holland, GM of the Detroit Red Wings said in an interview with the New York Times. “I’d like to see us play four-on-four for four or five minutes and three-on-three for four or five minutes. I’d like to have more games decided playing hockey.”

I personally like the idea of adding on additional minutes to OT, but what happens if no one scores then? I say keep the OT/shootout form the NHL currently has, but maybe make it a 10 minute 4 on 4 OT instead of 5 minutes. 

Adding on to scoring in OT and just in general, goalie gear has been talked about as well. Some think that goalie gear in general is getting much too bulky and unnecessary and hindering the ability of players to score. 

That's ridiculous. As long as the gear is within the mandatory guidelines, wear as much as you want.

Those guidelines will also be most likely discussed in relation to players wearing helmet visors. While the NHLPA will most likely not approve of a rule to make them mandatory, the GMs may take it upon themselves to say that's what they suggest players to wear. 

Lastly, there will be trade talks. 

Right now the trade deadline is a little over two weeks away, and there are rumors flying. But there are two complications this year. 

The first complication is next year's salary cap. It's about 10% less than this year's, and even though each team is allowed two compliance buyouts (Montreal and New York using one each already), no GM will be in a hurry to add much salary to the small amount of cap room they may have.

The second complication is how close the rankings are. Trades might be beneficial, but they could prove TOO beneficial to an opposing team you might be in the playoff race with. 

Wednesday should be a big day.