NHL Rules: Now's the Time to Crack Down on Diving

When the league is locked out, there's plenty of time to think about the state of the NHL.

While most of those thoughts begin with Gary Bettman's decision to halt the game by keeping players locked out and his unbridled determination to "win" the lockout at all costs, there's also an opportunity to think about the way the game is played and implement changes once competition begins again.

After the last lockout, the NHL implemented the shootout at the end of the five-minute overtime period in regular-season games.

This would be a good time to change the game by coming down hard on those who dive in order to get penalty calls on the opposition.

The NBA has recently done the same thing with its flopping rules (per NBA.com), although the NBA Players' Association is not pleased (per SI.com) because the rule was imposed unilaterally.

It makes just as much sense for the NHL to impose the same kind of sanctions.

Penalties are already in place in the NHL if officials believe that a player is trying to induce a false call by diving to the ice. Officials call these penalties regularly. However, it's one of the most difficult calls to enforce for even the best arbiters.

Here's why.

When a player trips an opponent with the blade of his stick or knocks him down with an elbow, the official's eye is often drawn to the illegal act and the call can be made. When a player dives, the officials will only see the offending player hit the ice, sometimes pretending he is in pain or feeling some sort of discomfort.

If the official has watched the diving player from the start of the act to the conclusion, he can call the penalty. However, if he was watching the action or looking at other players and only sees one player on the ice, he can't make the diving call.

His experience and instincts may tell him that a particular player has just faked a trip or a cross-check, but he can't be sure because he didn't witness it. In some cases, when the diving player has gotten close to his opponent, his dive can be so effective that he can induce a call against his opponent.

So, it's not a question of the current on-ice rules not being enforced by officials. While a call for greater vigilance could help, there is no way officials will catch the majority of these offenses.

Diving needs to be reviewed after the games by league officials who study game tapes. Players who dive need to be hit with financial penalties and branded for their actions.

A player who dives should be fined for the first egregious dive and then suspended thereafter. Just as Brendan Shanahan disciplines those who put others at risk with head shots and other illegal hits, he should impose penalties on those who are pretending to be hurt by an opponent's actions.

Players will continue to dive until they realize it's hurting their team and hurting their reputation.

Imposing secondary penalties—fines and suspensions—is a way to make the game more honest and legitimate.