NHL Embellishment Rule: What is it and how can players be penalized? 

Early in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, we heard a lot about 'embellishment'. So, what is the NHL's rule and how is it enforced?

"Diving" is the action of a player trying to draw a penalty against an opponent where no foul occurred. "Embellishment" means that the player makes the impression of a foul look more serious than it truly was. Both actions can be penalized under this rule.

NHL rule 10.3: "Diving & Embellishment" states that "unsportsmanlike conduct will be assessed to any player who dives or embellishes, in order to draw a penalty."

Essentially, if a player is hooked, slashed, tripped, boarded, etc. and that player attempts to draw the referee's attention to the penalty by falling easily or twisting their body, both players will be sent to the penalty box. If the original penalty is called, then unsportmanlike conduct will follow.

However, if the player "dives" when no foul has occurred, the referee can potentially call unsportsmanlike conduct without calling the original "penalty" at all.

Here is a recent example that was met with loads of criticism where both players were penalized:

In the veteran referee's (Wes McCauley) mind, Hurricanes defenseman Brent Burns was guilty of a crosscheck to the back of Islanders forward Zach Parise. However, McCauley also believed that Parise went down in a heap when the check itself was minor. But that is where the confusion comes in.

If a player embellishes in order to get a penalty called, shouldn't the original penalty not be assessed? Unfortunately, all of this comes down to the referee's judgment. Officials need to decide in a split second whether it is a penalty, a penalty and an embellishment, or simply a dive. That's a lot of decisions.

The issue with this is that often, they make the wrong call. How could they not? That wrong call has cost teams important games.

Here is a perfect example of embellishment at its finest. Keep in mind, this was only a "tripping" call.

This is not the first time that Kings forward Viktor Arvidsson has been caught diving, either.

Embellishment has also been a topic among rival coaches during the playoffs. Stars Coach Pete DeBoer and Wild Coach Dean Evason had a bit of a back and forth on the topic following Game 2.

After DeBoer spoke about the Wild being a heavily penalized team, Evason clapped back, stating that some of the bigger Stars players were falling down rather easily. DeBoer laughed in response and said, "There's a hockey term to describe that. It's called deflecting. That's good coaching."

The NHL has their hands full with all of this embellishment.

In the age of heavily used video reviews, every call the officials make will be under heavy scrutiny. The best solution for them is to call it evenly both ways. If they are going to crack down on diving, they need to call it around the league. If they are going to let the players play, then let them all play.

This summer, the league can take a good, long look at the issue and work to find a solution that hopefully mostly removes it from the game. Because, let's be honest, diving doesn't belong in hockey.

For fun, here is a chart showing how many times each NHL club was called for diving or embellishment during the regular season: