Wow, those new hitting rules will be hard to adjust to for physical players. The gist of it from what I can tell is that the only legal hits are to players still in possession of the puck AND are aware of the impending hit. So if a player has the puck, but is not aware of an approaching hit, he is considered vulnerable and the hit will be penalized.
I’m envisioning a future with blue chip prospects dangling the puck through the middle with their heads down watching their own moves and being immune to a body check because of their lack of awareness. Only stick checks from now on...
Is it safer? Yes. Is it hockey? ...??
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