from David Shoalts of the Globe and Maill,

It is only in rare circumstances that rules suggestions to come out of the annual GMs meetings, which run from March 19 to 21 in Boca Raton, Fla., are rushed into law during the current season. Any suggested rule changes usually are sent in early June to the league's NHLPA/NHL competition committee, which is made up of players, GMs and a few coaches who are non-voting members. The committee recommends which ones should be adopted.

Then both the NHL's board of governors and the executive board of the NHL Players' Association have to officially approve the changes, which they usually do. But that is not until late June, which means the changes go into effect the following season.

However, the referees' apparent inability to decide on a consistent standard for goaltender interference, and the coaches' limited ability to challenge the call on the ice, has the NHL in an uproar. The incidents are happening so often now that coaches and players outraged by a call in one game are often the beneficiaries of a call in the next.

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