SAN JOSE, Calif. — The NHL seemingly tweaks the minutiae of faceoff rules every season, hoping to help offenses and increase scoring by the slightest amounts.
This year, the league has supposedly banned players from dropping to one knee to win draws, Blackhawks coach Luke Richardson said Saturday. And new Hawks forward Colin Blackwell, perhaps aided by his Harvard degree, has kept his eyes peeled for potential violations.
“I don’t know how many times he was yelling at the referee last game because they were dropping to one knee,” Richardson said. “I quickly pointed out Max [Domi] did it once, too, so just be a little quieter.”
The Hawks did believe Golden Knights center William Karlsson was skirting the new rule frequently Thursday. But Richardson is nonetheless skeptical the change, whether enforced or not, will make a substantial difference.
“I don’t know how that is going to [increase scoring],” he said. “Because if you’re in the offensive zone, you’re going to do everything you can to try to win that draw.
“The one that they took out where the [Zenon] Konopka guy would just lock your stick down and use his free hand or glove on [the puck]….that made sense. This other one, I’m not really sure how much that makes sense. But that’s just the rules we’ve got to play.”
Oilers hire Keith
Three months after retiring as a player, Duncan Keith has landed his first front office gig. The longtime Hawks defenseman, who spent his final season with the Oilers in 2021-22, was hired by the Oilers on Friday as a player development consultant.
He’ll coach and advise Oilers prospects in juniors and the AHL, filling a role similar to former teammate Brian Campbell’s initial job in the Hawks’ front office.
News for Roos
Hawks defenseman Filip Roos has been admirably poised and composed in his first few NHL games, which have also been his first games ever in North America. Off the ice, however, the 23-year-old Swede has been a bit more wide-eyed.
“It’s a new country and everything like that, [but] I’m just trying to be focused on the game and on the practices,” Roos said Thursday. “It’s a new thing for me, but it’s getting better and better.”
His reaction to the Hawks’ trip to Las Vegas was hilarious.
“I said to the boys, when we were out walking, that it’s like a movie going out there,” he said with a grin. “It’s just unreal.”
