NHL could introduce overtime shot clock to avoid shootouts: report

While the NHL has often tried to market itself as differently as possible from its competitors, it might look more and more like them in the future.

While overtime is expected to be among the most exciting times in hockey, the modern strategy often sees attacking teams circle out of their opponent’s end in favour of a regroup or a line change.

According to Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the league’s general managers discussed adding a shot clock to regular-season overtime to increase scoring in the extra frame. Seravalli added that the league is also flirting with the idea of an over-and-back rule similar to basketball, meaning that players will be forced to stay in the offensive half of the ice if they have possession of the puck.

#NHL’s Colin Campbell says GMs discussed the idea of changing rule to limit teams from continually looping back and regrouping in 3-on-3 OT.

Potential solutions: Once you cross red or blue line, can’t go back out again. Or a shot clock.

Discussions ongoing, tabled to March.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) November 14, 2023

The NHL currently uses a five-minute sudden death 3-on-3 overtime in the regular season before heading to a best-of-three shootout if no winner is decided, while the playoffs currently have continuous 5-on-5 sudden death overtime until one team scores.

45 of 228 games across the league this season so far have gone to overtime, with 28 of them ending in the first five minutes of 3-on-3 and the other 17 going to a shootout.

The shootout being used to decide a winner was introduced in the 2005-06 season, while the NHL opted to swap in five minutes of 3-on-3 overtime instead of the previously existing 4-on-4 option in 2015-16. Prior to 2005, all regular season games that remained tied ended up as a tie and a single point in the standings for each team.

The MLB introduced a pitch clock in 2023 for the first time, which took 24 minutes off the average game time from 3:04 to 2:40 this past year. Meanwhile, the NBA has been using its 24-second shot clock since the league’s sixth season in 1954-55, and the NFL has always used a play clock that is currently set at 40 seconds per play.

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