Changing the rules in professional sports can be a dicey proposition. Sometimes they address legitimate problems. The coach’s challenge for goaltender interference, for example, is a step towards fixing an issue that arguably cost the Vancouver Canucks the Stanley Cup in 2011. But there is always a risk that new rules might backfire, and the other new coach’s challenge on offside calls carried just such a risk.
Backfired it has.
Prior to the start of this year’s Stanley Cup Final, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman was asked about the challenge and said it was working “exactly as intended,” indicating no intention to change it.