NHL talks review process at annual GM meetings
-
Kristen Shilton
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The NHL’s operations department pulled back the curtain on their process assessing how and why on-ice calls are overturned — or not — for the league’s general managers to kick off their annual meetings on Monday.
The 32 team executives gathered at Eau Palm Beach to hear from a panel of league hockey ops members who step into action when there’s a coach’s challenge for goalie interference or offside. The group reviewed several examples from this season and solicited manager feedback on whether they agreed with the original call or the extra layer of assessment.
Primarily, though, the goal was to provide clarity on what goes on between the refs — reviewing those infamous iPads in the penalty box — and the league figures connecting them with more information.
“When you get on the headset [in the Situation Room], the first thing you’re asking the referee when you give him the overhead [view], is, ‘is there anything you see here you didn’t see in real time,'” said Stephen Wolkom, the NHL’s senior vice president and director of officiating. “He’s going to [look] and be blunt. And that’s a tell right there on where we’re going to go [with our decision].”
Wolkom, along with Kris King, senior vice president of hockey operations and Colin Campbell, executive vice president and director of hockey operations, explained what their group is looking at when it comes to dissecting a potentially incorrect call. There’s a checklist of sorts they’ll go through on a goaltender interference question that serves, ideally, to be a consistent baseline if a goal is to be called back.
The league is looking at whether the contact from a player is deliberate or incidental, where it happened on the ice (in the goalie’s blue paint or out in white ice), if the goalie had a chance to reset, was able to do his job, and if the actions by the offensive or defensive player led to any part of the contact. And of course, there’s whether the referee sees anything differently on the provided replay that they missed in real time.
It’s often a fine line deciding which way the challenge goes. Perhaps that’s why the NHL has seen an uptick in coach’s challenges for goalie interference this season, rising to 105 already from 88 last year.
Campbell has one theory on that stat.
“There’s been maybe 10-15 really dumb challenges,” said Campbell. “We look at each other and go, ‘What are they doing? This is crazy by them.'”
Goal scoring is at a premium, though. And getting into a goaltender’s face while attempting to redirect pucks in front of the net is often the cost of netting one. So how can the NHL ensure goalies have a chance to stand tall without inhibiting a player’s right to try and beat him?
That’s at the forefront of the league’s decision-makers when they’re breaking down a challenge.
“We told the goalies we’d protect them in the blue,” said Rod Pasma, vice president of hockey operations. “How do we tell the position players when they’re trying to score and stay out of the blue, and they’re tipping a puck, and make a contact [with the goalie in white ice], [that they are] doing it wrong? That comes into it as well … and then, how much is the contact? Is it extreme? Is it relevant?”
All of that first falls on referees to answer. Those on the outside bemoan how long video review can take and the way challenges slow down a game’s flow. But communication between those eyes in the sky and the ones at ice level is key to getting a correct call. Usually once the refs have seen new angles, they’ll be able to tell King and company if the coach was right to question their verdict.
Nuance is everything, though.
“The goaltender has to be afforded the chance to make the save,” said goaltending supervisor Kay Whitmore. “But we have to be careful on saying whether the goalie can make the save or not. [Former NHL referee] Danny O’Halloran got an earful from Jonathan Quick one time saying, ‘how the [expletive] do you know I’m not going to make that save?'”
In addition to talking coach’s challenges, the league went over examples of unique offside reviews. They emphasized to the team execs that part of the process includes questioning where the puck entered the zone and whether they can clearly see where the puck is before issuing the offside challenge.
Missed game stoppages — for hand passes and tipping pucks into the net above “normal shoulder height” — were also on the agenda.
The league’s goal was to emphasize again the consistency of their approach in making one call or another — not that they want to be influencing the outcome of a game if they don’t have to.
“The call on the ice is [most] important in every one of these [situations],” said Campbell.
The 2025 MLB All-Star Home Run Derby is fast approaching — and the field is set.
Braves hometown hero Ronald Acuna Jr. became the first player to commit to the event, which will be held at Truist Park in Atlanta on July 14 (8 p.m. ET on ESPN). He was followed by MLB home run leader Cal Raleigh of the Seattle Mariners, James Wood of the Washington Nationals, Byron Buxton of the Minnesota Twins, Oneil Cruz of the Pittsburgh Pirates, Junior Caminero of the Tampa Bay Rays, Brent Rooker of the Athletics and Jazz Chisholm Jr. of the New York Yankees.
On Friday, however, Acuna was replaced by teammate Matt Olson.
With all the entrants announced, let’s break down their chances at taking home this year’s Derby prize.
Full All-Star Game coverage: How to watch, schedule, rosters, more
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 434 feet
Why he could win: Olson is a late replacement for Acuna as the home team’s representative at this year’s Derby. Apart from being the Braves’ first baseman, however, Olson also was born in Atlanta and grew up a Braves fan, giving him some extra motivation. The left-handed slugger led the majors in home runs in 2023 — his 54 round-trippers that season also set a franchise record — and he remains among the best in the game when it comes to exit velo and hard-hit rate.
Why he might not: The home-field advantage can also be a detriment if a player gets too hyped up in the first round. See Julio Rodriguez in Seattle in 2023, when he had a monster first round, with 41 home runs, but then tired out in the second round.
2025 home runs: 36 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: It’s the season of Cal! The Mariners’ catcher is having one of the greatest slugging first halves in MLB history, as he’s been crushing mistakes all season . His easy raw power might be tailor-made for the Derby — he ranks in the 87th percentile in average exit velocity and delivers the ball, on average, at the optimal home run launch angle of 23 degrees. His calm demeanor might also be perfect for the contest as he won’t get too amped up.
Why he might not: He’s a catcher — and one who has carried a heavy workload, playing in all but one game this season. This contest is as much about stamina as anything, and whether Raleigh can carry his power through three rounds would be a concern. No catcher has ever won the Derby, with only Ivan Rodriguez back in 2005 even reaching the finals.
2025 home runs: 24 | Longest: 451 feet
Why he could win: He’s big, he’s strong, he’s young, he’s awesome, he might or might not be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. This is the perfect opportunity for Wood to show his talent on the national stage, and he wouldn’t be the first young player to star in the Derby. He ranks in the 97th percentile in average exit velocity and 99th percentile in hard-hit rate, so he can still muscle the ball out in BP even if he slightly mishits it. His long arms might be viewed as a detriment, but remember the similarly tall Aaron Judge won in 2017.
Why he might not: His natural swing isn’t a pure uppercut — he has a pretty low average launch angle of just 6.2 degrees — so we’ll see how that plays in a rapid-fire session. In real games, his power is primarily to the opposite field, but in a Home Run Derby you can get more cheapies pulling the ball down the line.
2025 home runs: 20 | Longest: 479 feet
Why he could win: Buxton’s raw power remains as impressive as nearly any hitter in the game. He crushed a 479-foot home run earlier this season and has four others of at least 425 feet. Indeed, his “no doubter” percentage — home runs that would be out of all 30 parks based on distance — is 75%, the highest in the majors among players with more than a dozen home runs. His bat speed ranks in the 89th percentile. In other words, two tools that could translate to a BP lightning show.
Why he might not: Buxton is 31 and the Home Run Derby feels a little more like a younger man’s competition. Teoscar Hernandez did win last year at age 31, but before that, the last winner older than 29 was David Ortiz in 2010, and that was under much different rules than are used now.
2025 home runs: 16 | Longest: 463 feet
Why he could win: If you drew up a short list of players everyone wants to see in the Home Run Derby, Cruz would be near the top. He has the hardest-hit ball of the 2025 season, and the hardest ever tracked by Statcast, a 432-foot missile of a home run with an exit velocity of 122.9 mph. He also crushed a 463-foot home run in Anaheim that soared way beyond the trees in center field. With his elite bat speed — 100th percentile — Cruz has the ability to awe the crowd with a potentially all-time performance.
Why he might not: Like all first-time contestants, can he stay within himself and not get too caught up in the moment? He has a long swing, which will result in some huge blasts, but might not be the most efficient for a contest like this one, where the more swings a hitter can get in before the clock expires, the better.
2025 home runs: 23 | Longest: 425 feet
Why he could win: Although Caminero was one of the most hyped prospects entering 2024, everyone kind of forgot about him heading into this season since he didn’t immediately rip apart the majors as a rookie. In his first full season, however, he has showed off his big-time raw power — giving him a chance to become just the third player to reach 40 home runs in his age-21 season. He has perhaps the quickest bat in the majors, ranking in the 100th percentile in bat speed, and his top exit velocity ranks in the top 15. That could translate to a barrage of home runs.
Why he might not: In game action, Caminero does hit the ball on the ground quite often — in fact, he’s on pace to break Jim Rice’s record for double plays grounded into in a season. If he gets out of rhythm, that could lead to a lot of low line drives during the Derby instead of fly balls that clear the fences.
2025 home runs: 19 | Longest: 440 feet
Why he could win: The Athletics slugger has been one of the top power hitters in the majors for three seasons now and is on his way to a third straight 30-homer season. Rooker has plus bat speed and raw power, but his biggest strength is an optimal average launch angle (19 degrees in 2024, 15 degrees this season) that translates to home runs in game action. That natural swing could be picture perfect for the Home Run Derby. He also wasn’t shy about saying he wanted to participate — and maybe that bodes well for his chances.
Why he might not: Rooker might not have quite the same raw power as some of the other competitors, as he has just one home run longer than 425 feet in 2025. But that’s a little nitpicky, as 11 of his home runs have still gone 400-plus feet. He competed in the college home run derby in Omaha while at Mississippi State in 2016 and finished fourth.
2025 home runs: 17 | Longest: 442 feet
Why he could win: Chisholm might not be the most obvious name to participate, given his career high of 24 home runs, but he has belted 17 already in 2025 in his first 61 games after missing some time with an injury. He ranks among the MLB leaders in a couple of home run-related categories, ranking in the 96th percentile in expected slugging percentage and 98th percentile in barrel rate. His raw power might not match that of the other participants, but he’s a dead-pull hitter who has increased his launch angle this season, which might translate well to the Derby, even if he won’t be the guy hitting the longest home runs.
Why he might not: Most of the guys who have won this have been big, powerful sluggers. Chisholm is listed at 5-foot-11, 184 pounds, and you have to go back to Miguel Tejada in 2004 to find the last player under 6 foot to win.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike