From NHL.com’s Dan Rosen at the general managers meetings in Boca Raton:
Sounds like little to no appetite for 3-on-3 OT, but switching ends and doing a dry scrape before OT instead of the shootout has traction.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) March 10, 2014
Holland said he doesn't think they'll be able to get more minutes in OT. But again, long change and dry scrape could be recommendation.
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) March 10, 2014
That would be Red Wings GM Ken Holland who doesn’t think extended overtime (i.e. from five minutes to 10) is a possibility. Holland has been pushing for changes in order to reduce the number of shootouts deciding games.
From NHL.com:
Through Saturday, 14 percent of games played this season (135 of 963) ended in a shootout, and 40 percent of games that went to overtime reached a shootout. Shootouts were up slightly from last season (13.46 percent in 720 games played), but down from 2011-12 (14.72 percent), the last full NHL season. Since 2005-06, when the shootout was implemented, 13.3 percent of the 10,293 games played ended in a shootout.
Switching ends to create longer changes (and more tired players trapped on the ice) should help decide a few more games in overtime, and perhaps a dry scrape beforehand could, too. But considering the other options that were being considered, the potential changes for next season sound like they’ll be minimal.
Glen Sather on 4-on-4 vs. 3-on-3: "It was tough enough getting 4 on 4. 3 on 3 is a bit of a pipe dream in my opinion."
— Dan Rosen (@drosennhl) March 10, 2014
Update: Here’s some video of the GMs talking: