One of the most important times in the NHL calendar is coming up soon, and decisions that could shape the future of the league could be on the docket.
The annual general manager meetings are set to begin on Monday, and as always, propositions to alter the rules of play could be discussed after what has been a transformative season in the NHL.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, the over-arching theme of this year's GM meetings may centre around the toll of the NHL schedule — particularly with the introduction of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
"One thing I do think that everybody is kind of talking about, including the players, is just the toll of the schedule," Friedman said on the Saturday Headlines segment of Hockey Night in Canada. "Since that tournament was played in February, one manager said to me, 'I'd love to see that go back to September because it's too much of a toll on the players.' But it was so successful I can't see that happening."
Despite the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off, injuries were aplenty in the sport's return of best-on-best.
Canadian defenceman Shea Theodore missed most of the tournament after suffering an upper-body injury in the opening game against Sweden. He has yet to return to the ice for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Meanwhile, superstar forward Matthew Tkachuk has yet to return to the Panthers after suffering an injury ahead of the 4 Nations final against Canada — a game in which he still suited up for the U.S.
"I do think there is concern about the overall toll of injuries," Friedman said.
Another conversation on the docket courtesy of the 4 Nations Face-Off could be potential changes to overtime rules after the tournament experimented with 10-minute, 3-on-3 overtime.
"After we saw 3-on-3 overtime for more than five minutes at the 4 Nations, will there be a conversation to ask the players to go to seven or eight minutes?" Friedman asked. "I don't think we'd go to the full 10."
The league's current 3-on-3, five-minute sudden-death format was implemented ahead of the 2015-16 season.
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