"We can agree that this is a failure" - NHL expert Greg Wyshinski on the offside rule and video review

NHL expert Greg Wyshynski spoke out about the offside rule and video review, which he thinks needs to be changed. In his opinion, the offside rule has become a source of frustration and confusion for players, officials, and fans alike.

Wyshynski argues that the current system, which uses video reviews to determine whether a player was offside at the time of a goal, is flawed. He thinks it often results in the nullification of several offensive and defensive plays that occurred before the goal was scored.

Speaking on the "Jeff Marek Show," Wyshynski said the following:

"It’s also a rule changing thing and it’s also a video review thing. We need to stop with the offside thing. Just stop. We don’t have to go as far as our friend Dimitri Filipovic wants to go and get rid of offside, although I do think that there can be a discussion about it in 2023.

"But we all have to come to the conclusion that the grand experiment started by Mr Matt Duchene’s titanic offside which was a country mile over the blue line, that that experiment has failed."

He believes that the NHL is too focused on counting pixels around skate blades and blue lines. So much so that the time and effort spent reviewing these plays is not worth the end result.

"We have become a sport of counting pixels around skate blades and blue lines. We have become a sport where offside happens two and a half minutes before a goal is scored, nullifies several offensive and defensive plays that happened afterwards."

Greg Wyshinski understands rule changes would result in backlash for the NHL

2022 NHL Stanley Cup Final - Game Three

While some NHL fans and experts have called for the complete elimination of the offside rule, Wyshynski acknowledges that this may be too drastic a change. However, he does feel a discussion should be had about the rule and that the NHL should consider rolling back the use of video reviews.

This proposal is not without its challenges. Reversing the rule would mean returning to the realm of human error. This is a difficult argument to make to fans who have become accustomed to the current system.

Wyshynski believes that the benefits of simplifying the game and reducing the amount of time spent on video reviews would ultimately outweigh any backlash.

"I know that it is a very difficult thing to go to your fans and say this infraction that we felt was so important, that we are going to waste time using video review to see whether or not it occurred, we are going to turn that back to the realm of human error.

"And that is going to be a really tough argument to make because the first time there is an offside play that is not called, you are going to have millions of fans blaming the NHL for rolling back this rule."

We can all agree that this offside experiment with video review is a failure and we need to roll it back."

It is unclear at this stage what the NHL will do regarding the rule, as pressure to act continues to build.