Will hockey ever add active backups for games?

[Time Skip]

Most other sports I can think of allow for active backups to be used; they just tend not to. Hockey technically does but only for the goaltending.

Heck, not even the refs get replaced!

Football has more guys than we can count.
Basketball can have 15(?) in a night
Baseball can use guys not in the lineup
Soccer has multiple guys ready to play
So on and so on…

Could the NHL, and hockey as a whole, benefit from having two active backup slots? I imagine teams would carry one F one D, unless strategizing otherwise.

Double Edit: this would be treated as an injury relacement. These players do not activey play unless needed. Ejection could be included or excluded, and treated as a red card (from soccer)

This would also include raising the roster limit by two; would have positive effects on the ability to fight through injuries, as well as make the trade market more active

Edit: could also save the two extra roster spots by having the current healthy scratches dress

Things like a shortened bench and 11/7 would become a thing of the past.. but is that a relic or simply a challenging byproduct?

What are yall’s thoughts? Fun idea I thought

 

[jigglysquishy]

Roster is too big as it is.

No one is paying to watch 4th liners play.

 

[Time Skip]

Roster is too big as it is.

No one is paying to watch 4th liners play.

These players would likely play very little or not at all; similar to basketball backups and football third stringers

It’s for insurance purposes. The roster being too big is a fair criticism, however

 

[SEALBound]

And the guys that don't get into game would be what? Like...a scratch? Not a sick or ill scratch. They are healthy. A healthy scratch?

 

[NYRnine94]

No thanks

 

[Time Skip]

And the guys that don't get into game would be what? Like...a scratch? Not a sick or ill scratch. They are healthy. A healthy scratch?

You’d still have scratches all the same. Youd simply have two extra players on the bench, ready to play if needed.

Reason I bring this up is because hockey is rare in the concept of playing a man or more down for an entire game (outside of a red card in soccer, which is a penalty). This even applies to referees; when one is injured, the other rides solo

the scratches in the box can’t suit up to play; these two extra skaters would.

 

[SEALBound]

You’d still have scratches all the same. Youd simply have two extra players on the bench, ready to play if needed.

Reason I bring this up is because hockey is rare in the concept of playing a man or more down for an entire game (outside of a red card in soccer, which is a penalty). This even applies to referees; when one is injured, the other rides solo

the scratches in the box can’t suit up to play; these two extra skaters would.

So a 5th line and a 4th pairing? (read: one 5th line player and one 4th pairing dman).

If you go down a forward, what's wrong with the other 11?

If it's a concern, I could run a training camp by running these NHL whimps through my local adult league where I regularly play games with 4-5 forwards.

 

[Time Skip]

Either that or you make two of the healthy scratches the active backups on the bench? Saves two roster spots @jigglysquishy @SEALBound

 

[Time Skip]

So a 5th line and a 4th pairing? (read: one 5th line player and one 4th pairing dman).

If you go down a forward, what's wrong with the other 11?

If it's a concern, I could run a training camp by running these NHL whimps through my local adult league where I regularly play games with 4-5 forwards.

It’d allow a team to not be down a forward or defenseman after one injury. Thats double the protection currently, which is none and double shifting a guy lol

The roster spots being added isn’t necessary if you just run the scratches on the bench. But I do think hockey could stand to add a way to not be a man down after one injury, like every other team sport allows

 

[SEALBound]

It’d allow a team to not be down a forward or defenseman after one injury. Thats double the protection currently, which is none and double shifting a guy lol

The roster spots being added isn’t necessary if you just run the scratches on the bench. But I do think hockey could stand to add a way to not be a man down after one injury, like every other team sport allows

In effect, the current HS would dress for warms ups and then just hang out wherever. If someone gets hurt, they make their way to the bench.

 

[Time Skip]

In effect, the current HS would dress for warms ups and then just hang out wherever. If someone gets hurt, they make their way to the bench.

Essentially, yes. They wouldn’t be allowed to play except for injury or sickness.

Ejection would not allow them to come in, however. Treat it like a red card; thatd be fun, right? Lol

Edit: in theory you could run them on the bench, and let them play. But that seems.. extra lol, and would lead to teams simply loading at deadlines as contenders

 

[NYRnine94]

It’d allow a team to not be down a forward or defenseman after one injury. Thats double the protection currently, which is none and double shifting a guy lol

The roster spots being added isn’t necessary if you just run the scratches on the bench. But I do think hockey could stand to add a way to not be a man down after one injury, like every other team sport allows

Having to plan around an injury adds to the drama of a hockey game. It can make or break a team

 

[Sanderson]

Hockey already uses 20 players, there is no need for replacements because the replacements already participate. That's the point of having four lines.

You are creating differences were there are none. Basketball uses 5 players on the field, the rest can come in if needed. Soccer uses 11 players on the field, the others can be brought on if needed, though limited in the number of substitutions a team can use. Hockey has 6 players on the ice, the rest can be brought on whenever it is needed. Football doesn't compare, because they use different players for offense and defense.

The difference in use stems from what offers the most benefit regarding the players on the field.
Hockey has evolved towards a situation in which short shifts and quick changes offer the best results, as players tire out quickly. Basketball and soccer have a completely different style and tempo, it would be useless to constantly change the lineup in either of the two. Football and Baseball have individual moments of actions, followed by a break, that's something else entirely.

Hockey teams are free to use their players like teams from other sports do. They just don't, because it would put them at a disadvantage.

 

[SUX2BU]

Most other sports I can think of allow for active backups to be used; they just tend not to. Hockey technically does but only for the goaltending.

Heck, not even the refs get replaced!

Football has more guys than we can count.
Basketball can have 15(?) in a night
Baseball can use guys not in the lineup
Soccer has multiple guys ready to play
So on and so on…

Could the NHL, and hockey as a whole, benefit from having two active backup slots? I imagine teams would carry one F one D, unless strategizing otherwise.

Double Edit: this would be treated as an injury relacement. These players do not activey play unless needed. Ejection could be included or excluded, and treated as a red card (from soccer)

This would also include raising the roster limit by two; would have positive effects on the ability to fight through injuries, as well as make the trade market more active

Edit: could also save the two extra roster spots by having the current healthy scratches dress

Things like a shortened bench and 11/7 would become a thing of the past.. but is that a relic or simply a challenging byproduct?

What are yall’s thoughts? Fun idea I thought

There’s 20 players on a team yall …..

 

[Summer Rose]

Hockey is interesting in that in the overwhelming majority of games, every dressed player (except for the backup goaltender) sees ice time. It's hard to compare it to other sports, where there are different substitution rules (a common theme with some of them being that a player removed from the game cannot re-enter the game).

I'm neutral to mildly positive on your suggestion as I understand it, which is to designate two players who can enter the game in the case that someone gets injured and cannot return, and to increase the active roster from 23 to 25 players accordingly. I'd feel better about the suggestion if one were to remove the roster size increase. Maybe just let any healthy scratches (which would then be a maximum of 3) enter the game to replace an injured player who cannot return.

Regarding defining "injured player who cannot" return, if they're questionable to return you make a decision. You can remove them and put in the healthy scratch, but no take-backs.

Also, if a player gets a game misconduct or match penalty, you can't replace him with a healthy scratch.

Could be interesting.

 

[vandymeer13]

Roster is too big as it is.

No one is paying to watch 4th liners play.

Today's 4th liners definitely not. But when they had legit toughness and physical players in the 80s thru 2013 yes. The enforcers sold as much jerseys as star players.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

The main thing they have to do is add a third goaltender for emergency purposes on every roster. No more of this stupid e-bug nonsense. It is so bush league to have points in the standings hang in the balance because they don't pay an extra $900,000 to have someone around who can put on the pads in case someone goes down.

Instead of a 23-man roster, have a 23+1 roster and that 1 has to be your third-string goaltender. There are easily 32 journeymen goaltenders who would take this job instead of a 12th year riding the buses. And teams can send them down and call someone else up without waivers, as conditioning assignments to keep them fresh and ready.

I can't believe we are not there already. It's ridiculous.

 

[miscs75]

They already do this. Biz made a career out of playing 3 minutes on average each night.

 

[RandV]

Basically hockey is an anaerobic activity, and 12 forwards + 6 dmen is already plenty. For a single 60 min game these guys could easily play 3 forward lines and 2 d pairs, but for an 82 game schedule you want those extra bodies. But it's easy enough to adjust to injuries for a single game.

 

[M2Beezy]

I never considered this idea but it makes sense. Good idea OP. Makes me think of the recent Jets Blues game where was it Morrissey who went down early in the game and the Jets only 5 d the rest of the game

If the league were to introduce an idea like this, perhaps start with one player which would MOST likely be a dman

 

[Habsrule]

They do this for the World Junior Championships already. Teams dress two extra players. It works out great there.

Now quite often it is an offensive player who will start the game out as the #13 forward and may end up in the top six in a scoring role.

The biggest problem the NHL would have with this is I can foresee one of the extra players will be an enforcer or a dirty player.