Hello, Wilderness!
As usual, I'm continuing my "NHL Rules that should be Changed" series, and this week, I'm going to be looking at the idea of diving/embellishment.
Before I get into anything, here's the official NHL rule on diving/embellishment calls:
Being the avid hockey fans we are, we all should know that diving or embellishment should have no place in this game.
One of the few problems that there is with diving calls is that almost all the time they call the other player for tripping or hooking as well.
Shouldn't it be one or the other?
If someone goes down via tripping, they are really falling down. But, if someone dives or embellishes a trip, they are clearly faking it.
Depending upon whether a fall was intended or not, I think only one of the two things (tripping or embellishment) should be called, not both.
The current way the refs are calling this is unfair because it means that one of the involved players is getting an unnecessary penalty.
Also, refs need to improve upon calling dives, as many players do it a lot, and the refs usually miss them.
If a player goes down intentionally like in that example with Lapierre, the refs have the right to call a minor penalty on the player that embellished the fall.
Personally though, I don't think two minutes is enough for a penalty that is stupid as this one.
Also, I think these dives/embellished falls could be reduced if the penalty for this was ten minutes instead of the current two.
If the NHL could implicate a ten-minute penalty for diving/embellishment and be more consistent with calling it when it happens, I would be all for that change.
What do you think, Wilderness?
Should the NHL be more strict on this rule, or do you think it's fine just the way it is?
Let me know your thoughts in the poll below, as well as in the comments.
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