7 NHL Unwritten Rules We Don't—and Do—Understand
Did you hear: The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the news! NHL commissioner Gary Bettman upheld the Department of Player Safety's five-game suspension for Morgan Rielly on Tuesday.
Rielly famously cross-checked Senators forward Ridly Greig on Feb. 10 after Greig took a slap shot into an empty net when the Senators were already up and were about to win.
The whole thing has sparked a debate about unwritten NHL rules. Some think Rielly, as a careerlong Leaf and member of the core, was right to defend the team's honor and show they wouldn't be embarrassed on their turf.
Others, including the Department of Player Safety, believe intent to injure with no need for self-defense is never OK. Some of us are in the gray area, thinking about hockey culture as a whole—where it's been, where it's at and where it's headed.
Let's take a look at the debate surrounding Rielly's suspension and check in on some other unwritten rules while we're at it.
Don't Take a Slap Shot on an Empty Net
1 of 7The unwritten rules criteria that were met—or tried to meet—were officially handed down this week as the Rielly suspension was upheld Tuesday. Bettman's ruling to affirm Rielly's five-game suspension noted that "much of" the testimony from Rielly's camp dealt with the idea that Greig was trying to embarrass the Leafs with a slap shot on an empty net to conclude a game the Senators were going to win regardless.
"That discussion is utterly irrelevant," Bettman wrote. "Mr. Rielly's actions were not undertaken in self-defense. They were not accidental and they were not reflexive. They were not simply careless or merely reckless. With plenty of time to think about what he was going to do next, Mr. Rielly approached Mr. Greig from the side and then used his stick as a weapon to deliver the kind of blow to the head that the league has repeatedly made clear will not be tolerated."
The discourse was pretty insufferable on both sides of this—you were either totally for a late-game empty-netter slap shot, or totally for Rielly.
I love Ryan Reaves and I'll spend my life defending his hilarity and antics, but I thought it was ridiculous that he is literally on the Leafs and was weighing in on this in the media without actually doing something.
I like that Bettman said someone with more of a history would've gotten more and this is the minimum. I dislike that Bettman followed the pattern of upholding another ruling instead of us seeing what a reversal would look like, but his logic was sound. Rielly clearly had intent and was not acting in self-defense, unless embarrassment puts you in physical danger.
In general, my favorite thing that came from all of it was that Greig woke up and shot his hardest slap shot into the empty net the next day at practice. I was fully prepared to never hear this man's name again, but now I love him. This is how we grow the game.
I do wonder what will happen the next time a similar scenario occurs, but for now we know at the very least that Bettman and the league are keeping this rule unwritten.
Don't Step on the Logo
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I'll never forget accidentally stepping on a logo in a dressing room at the start of my career as an NHL reporter.
Was I yelled at by a stern, mystery voice I can only remember as the Wizard of Oz? Yes. Did I call my dad crying as I mourned what I thought was the end of my career before it even started? Perhaps.
Seven years later, I'm still here, and so is the unwritten rule that you can't step on a logo in an NHL dressing room. People often call this one out as one of the league's most egregious. But, honestly, as someone who has suffered the social humiliation of breaking the unwritten rule, I disagree. I even look back at my "welcome to the show, kid" moment with some humble fondness.
Hockey Culture has taken on a few meanings at this point, many rightfully negative, but the pride that players, coaches and personnel have for their teams and the league is still endearing to me.
Sure, the clubs could (and some have) put the logo on the ceiling and eliminate the issue, but the point is the issue—going out of your way to avoid the large thing placed specifically where you'd naturally walk. In an era especially prone to players and media misunderstanding each other, reporters going out of their way to avoid the logo is one of the last "wink wink, nudge nudge" acts of impartial camaraderie we have that isn't totally obnoxious.
It costs zero dollars to not walk on the logo, and it's a harmless show of respect. Sometimes it feels like not stepping on the logo is the one thing I did right on any given day. I love a good social cue and a silent show of respect, so who am I to hate on the unwritten logo rule?
Don't Tender an Offer Sheet to Restricted Free Agents
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I got a rare look into this unwritten rule as a Hurricanes beat reporter when Sebastian Aho and Jesperi Kotkaniemi got their offer sheets. It got weird, and no matter how hard any GM or owner on both sides tried to deny it, it got personal.
Reflecting on it, the resistance from both sides to admit any of it was personal was the weirdest part of all. It's been an "unwritten rule" among NHL front offices forever to not screw each other over and tender an offer sheet. That would surely open the floodgates and make it a common thing, ultimately benefiting—gasp—the player.
In a way, we saw a micro version of a player benefiting when it came to the initial Sebastian Aho offer sheet. He was probably worth more than his $8.454 million cap hit, but that was what the Habs could afford to offer in terms of signing bonuses.
The story goes that the Hurricanes were hitting snags in the negotiation due to term, not AAV. This was 2019, mind you, and before COVID, teams were more adamant about long-term deals for their stars, whereas Aho wanted a shorter term to prove himself. He also wanted to show up to training camp and not prolong the negotiation, and the Canes are notoriously stubborn with negotiations. He signed the Canadiens' sheet, the Hurricanes matched it and everyone was happy.
I think the money itself is where the Habs got it wrong—they genuinely believed that billionaire owner Tom Dundon couldn't afford or was too cheap to match a cap hit for a homegrown star that was less than each player on the Leafs' first line. They also believed Dundon would be OK with being publicly embarrassed.
Dundon was expecting to pay a higher AAV for more years with Aho. The Hurricanes have a history of lowballing and tense negotiations, but this doesn't mean they aren't going to eventually sign the player; it means they're running a business owned by someone who isn't a hockey guy.
The Habs clocked the frustration the player felt, but fell right into Dundon's trap by doing his job for him and being fooled by rumors that Dundon was bankrupt and couldn't handle the signing bonuses the Canadiens tacked on. Anyway, the Hurricanes matched the offer sheet and life went on...until it was time for the Canadiens to re-sign restricted free agent Jesperi Kotkaniemi.
The revenge, that Dundon kept saying wasn't revenge, kicked in. Sure, he and the Canes might've been looking at Kotkaniemi to round out their squad of Finns. Yes, the only way to win in an offer sheet is to overpay. But no one believes there wasn't at least a hint of revenge element to this.
Habs fans seem to have some idea that their team got the last laugh (just ask them about it on Twitter/X/whatever Elon is calling it these days), but the Hurricanes got their star at a discounted AAV and overpaid for one player, which is fine considering their roster is constructed full of deals. The real winner, though? The players, and the drama. After witnessing all of this firsthand, I've craved more offer sheets ever since.
Maybe two less polarizing franchises next time though, please.
Don't Wear Specific Numbers Even If They're Not Retired Leaguewide
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I once wrote an article about the meaning behind each players' number, and it enlightened me to both the meaning and meaninglessness behind it all.
There are legends like Rod Brind'Amour who came into the league so young they didn't have a choice and never let go of their original number, but there are people who swap numbers and care about what they get.
I'm OK with the idea of never picking a Mario Lemieux or Wayne Gretzky-caliber player number. I mean, come on, we are rightfully going to make fun of someone doing that. But why are certain numbers reserved for certain positions? And won't somebody please free the goalies from the 0s, 1s and 30s?
You Have to Answer the Bell/Staged Fighting Is Still a Thing in the League
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Look, I'm not against fighting even though I maybe should be. I love an organic donnybrook, and I love that the league still allows that. Sue me.
But we've got the WWE for fabricated fights. We need the NHL for our last bastion of actual fighting if we're going to allow it.
A huge part of this? I don't think you should ever feel obligated to fight, especially after delivering a clean hit. How do we get this out of the game, though? You hear it every time a star player goes down: Who is going to "answer the bell?"
Perhaps it starts with the way we talk about it. Then you look at rosters, and yes, physicality and toughness will always matter. But the most successful teams are trending toward more skill and top-line talent, as the idea of an "enforcer" is almost totally phased out now.
I mean, it wasn't Reaves doing the enforcing in our latest example, although he had a lot to say about it. It was Rielly. Maybe this puts into perspective that typical bell-answering fighters can't do much if they aren't on the ice, and in today's game, they aren't on the ice all that much.
I don't know, folks. I know this one is a touchy subject and, again, situations like the Rangers-Capitals full-team glove dropping a few years back will always be beautiful to me.
But we don't need to fake it anymore, do we?
Don't Touch the Conference Finals Trophies
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The Golden Knights won the Western Conference in 2018, and they touched the trophy. They did not win the Stanley Cup. The Golden Knights did not touch the conference trophy in 2023, while their opponents did. They did win the Stanley Cup.
The Athletic's Jesse Granger highlighted this last season and brought up an interesting stat: Since 1997, there have been 11 instances in which one team touched the conference championship trophy and the other didn't. On those occasions, the team that touched the hardware went 8-3 in the Cup Final.
He arrived at one conclusion: This isn't a way to determine who wins the Cup. It reminds me of when I asked Hurricanes head coach and 2006 Cup winner Rod Brind'Amour his opinion on playoff beards. He said he never understood it, since 16 teams grow them and only one wins the Cup. He also joked he might be biased because he can't grow a beard.
Bottom line: Do whatever you want, but do it with swagger.
The Handshake Line
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The Handshake Line is the reality in which I like the unwritten rule and am tired of the discourse. This is cute, nice and a good representation of "Hockey Culture," yes. But it is not even close to being the best thing in sports, which is what announcers say every time it's on the screen.
Maybe I just don't like cliches to begin with, and don't want to predict what the announcer will say if I can't gamble on it. Maybe I also don't like how nosy I am to no avail—what are they all saying? What aren't they saying?
I just don't like the attitude that hockey is better than other sports because they shake hands at the end, but I kinda do like it, too. It's one of those things where it's only OK when we make fun of it. Is this the existential reality of a hockey fan?
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