MANALAPAN, Fla. (AP) — Coaches are challenging goals one way or the other for goaltender interference at the highest rate in six seasons, playoff races across the NHL are tight and the chase for the Stanley Cup is a month away.
Because of all that, video review — and particularly coach's challenges for goalie interference — took center stage Monday to kick off the general managers' annual spring meeting.
GMs were shown roughly 70 clips of goals challenged this season for interference, offside or a missed stoppage, such as the puck hitting the protective netting, a hand pass or a high stick. The aim was to explain what the league standards are for goaltender interference and to educate all 32 organizations on how the process works.
“These aren’t black and white,” vice president of hockey operations Kris King said. “There’s a lot of judgment that goes into these. ... They’re never the same. They’re snowflakes. There’s a lot of different things that go into it.”
Through the first 1,048 games this season, coaches challenged either a goal or no-goal call for goalie interference 105 times — the most since 2019-20 when getting it wrong first became a two-minute penalty — and 60 of them were successfully overturned, which is also the highest percentage under the current system.
“Games are tough,” King said. “It’s tough to score. Guys know the importance of winning games, and they’re going to the net hard.”
All video reviews are determined by the NHL's situation room in Toronto, in consultation with on-ice officials. The decisions are made based on deliberate versus incidental contact, whether it's in or out of the crease, whether the goalie can do his job and has a chance to reset and if there was anything done by the offensive or defensive player to cause the disruption.
“It’s hard," said Bill Zito, GM of the reigning champion Florida Panthers. "You gain an appreciation for how hard and what a good job the refs do and the situation room. It’s unbelievable not only how good they are but how hard it is.”
Goaltender interference challenges have been in place since 2015-16, initially at the expense of a timeout like in the NFL, and director of officiating Stephen Walkom believes the standard has been set for what it means.
“We’re not far off," Walkom said. “Maybe originally when we started, there was some differences of opinion, but there really isn’t now.”
Senior executive VP of hockey operations Colin Campbell, who along with King and other league officials like Kay Whitmore and Rod Pasma are in charge of situation room rulings, thinks there have been some unwise challenges this season, which goes against the intent of the rule. The NHL is set for another high-scoring season, there are more close games than at any point in the history of the league and the last thing anyone wants is too many unnecessary disruptions to the flow of games.
“You’re going to have some judgment calls, and that’s the nature particularly of goaltender interference,” Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “When anybody says, ‘I thought I’d give it a shot,’ or ‘I think it’s 50/50,’ that’s not the standard. The standard is was it really a glaring mistake so that the judgment of the officials on the ice should be overturned.”
What happens far more often is successful challenges for offside: 69 of 77 because coaching staffs typically don't ask to review those plays unless they've seen conclusive video evidence that shows they are correct.
The schedule, which will be affected next season by the break for the 2026 Milan Olympics, is among the topics on the agenda for meetings Tuesday and Wednesday. One thing that is not a formal point of discussion is extending 3-on-3 overtime beyond 5 minutes, something that would need to be brought to the Players' Association.
But with a month left to go in the regular season before the playoffs begin and races for the final few spots expected to go down to the wire, all aspects of video review are under the microscope.
“We have to make tough rulings and we use our experience,” Campbell said. “It’s not that they’re all going to be accepted, obviously, because there’s passion behind these decisions to make these challenges. We know we run into that and just, with our experience, we hope we’re making the right call.”
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
A monitor at the NHL general mangers meetings, Monday, March 17 2025, in Manaplan, Fla., displays a replay of a coach's challenge video review for goaltender interference from the Vegas Golden Knights' NHL hockey game at the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 14, 2024, that was one of roughly 55 clips shown during the first session of their annual spring meeting. (AP Photo/Stephen Whyno)
A monitor at the NHL general mangers meetings, Monday, March 17 2025, in Manaplan, Fla., shows an overhead view of a coach's challenge video review for goaltender interference from the Vegas Golden Knights' NHL hockey game at the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 14, 2024, that was one of roughly 55 clips shown during the first session of their annual spring meeting. (AP Photo/Stephen Whyno)
SHANGHAI (AP) — Ex-Formula 1 team owner and media personality Eddie Jordan has died, according to a statement by his family. He was 76.
Often known simply as “EJ,” he ran his own Jordan team in the 1990s and 2000s in F1. His humor, strong opinions and often extravagant dress sense made Jordan a popular pundit on TV after selling the team in 2005.
Jordan was undergoing treatment for what he had called “quite aggressive” cancer of the bladder and prostate which spread to his spine and pelvis.
The family statement, published by rugby club London Irish, where Jordan was a patron, said he “passed away peacefully with family by his side in Cape Town” early Thursday.
“EJ brought an abundance of charisma, energy and Irish charm everywhere he went. We all have a huge hole missing without his presence. He will be missed by so many people, but he leaves us with tonnes of great memories to keep us smiling through our sorrow.”
F1 president and chief executive Stefano Domenicali, who was a senior Ferrari employee when Jordan owned his team, said Jordan was “a protagonist of an era of F1 and he will be deeply missed.”
“With his inexhaustible energy he always knew how to make people smile, remaining genuine and brilliant at all times.”
Irish businessman Jordan operated his own racing team in lower-level series before moving up to F1 in 1991, giving future seven-time champion Michael Schumacher his first race that year.
Christian Horner, then a young driver dreaming of F1 and now Red Bull team principal, recalled the advice he got from Jordan in 1991: “Get a good sponsor … welcome to the Piranha Club!” F1 has “lost a legend,” Horner said.
Jordan gave Schumacher his break in F1 because his regular driver Bertrand Gachot was sentenced to prison for assaulting a London taxi driver. The then-22-year-old Schumacher was with the team for only a single race before Benetton signed him in controversial circumstances.
“I am deeply saddened by the loss of Eddie Jordan. Eddie was a great individual, who for decades always brought a smile to the entire F1 paddock," said Flavio Briatore, who then ran Benetton and became a close friend of Jordan, and is now executive adviser at Alpine.
"I have fond memories of the time spent on and off the track with Eddie, and his presence across the entire F1 world will be greatly missed.”
Other Jordan drivers over the years included Damon Hill, who won the 1996 championship with Williams and gave Jordan its first win in torrential rain in 1998, future Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, and Heinz-Harald Frentzen, who was third in the championship for Jordan in 1999.
Jordan Grand Prix won four races before Jordan sold the team in 2005. Following more sales and name changes since then, the team competes as Aston Martin.
“Eddie Jordan was one of the all-time motorsport greats. He was a one-off, a wonderful human being, and a charismatic leader who founded this team and took it to F1 in 1991,” Aston Martin team principal Andy Cowell said in a statement.
“His vision laid the foundations for us and he leaves a lasting legacy for the entire motorsport community.”
Jordan also acted as the manager for car design great Adrian Newey when he left Red Bull for Aston Martin last year.
When he revealed his cancer diagnosis last year, Jordan used it as an opportunity to urge listeners of his podcast to follow up on any health concerns.
“This is a little message to everybody listening to this, don’t waste or put it off,” he said. “Go and get tested, because in life you have got chances. Go and do it. Don’t be stupid. Don’t be shy. Look after your body, guys.”
AP Sports Writer James Ellingworth in Duesseldorf, Germany, contributed.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
FILE - Eddie Jordan poses for a photo with former soccer player Pele, Nov. 6, 1998. (Sean Dempsey/PA via AP, File)
FILE - Britain's Nigel Mansell, right, speaks with Jordan-Peugeot team owner Edddie Jordan of Ireland on the pit wall at the Montmelo circuit in Barcelona Wednesday, Dec. 11, 1996. (AP Photo/Cesar Rangel, File)
FILE - Germany's Ralf Schumacher, left, poses for a photo with Jordan Formula One team owner Eddie Jordan at the launch of the new seasons car in London January 30, 1997. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
FILE - Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton, right, of Britain shares a light moment with Eddie Jordan, owner of Jordan Grand Prix, which raced in Formula One from 1991 to 2005, as he arrives for the first practice session for the Singapore F1 Grand Prix on the Marina Bay City Circuit in Singapore, Friday, Sept. 20, 2013. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara, File)
FILE - Eddie Jordan, former Formula One driver and team owner, listens during a press conference during a Moscow City Racing 2013 along the Moscow Kremlin, in Moscow, Russia, Sunday, July 21, 2013. (AP Photo/ Alexander Zemlianichenko Jr, File)
FILE - Eddie Jordan, center, poses for a photo with Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Jarno Trulli, Jan. 31, 2000. (Matthew Fearn/PA via AP, File)
FILE - Eddie Jordan enjoys a pint of Guinness at the Toucan Bar after learning he is to be made an Officer of the British Empire, in London, March 28, 2012. (Anthony Devlin/PA via AP, File)
