The no-helmet goalie rule: The risks outweigh the benefits

Many on social media thought that since Kuemper lost his mask, play should have been blown dead immediately by the on-ice officials. Common sense would be to protect the player — Kuemper — in this type of situation.

However, that’s not how NHL rule 9.6 works. The officials got it right. Play should have – and did – continue. Per the NHL rule book:

“When a goalkeeper has lost his helmet and/or face mask and his team has possession of the puck, the play shall be stopped immediately to allow the goalkeeper the opportunity to regain his helmet and/or face mask. When the opposing team has possession of the puck, play shall only be stopped if there is no immediate and impending scoring opportunity. This stoppage of play must be made by the Referee. When play is stopped because the goalkeeper has lost his helmet and/or face mask, the ensuing face-off shall take place at one of the defending team’s end zone face-off spots.

When a goalkeeper deliberately removes his helmet and/or face mask in order to secure a stoppage of play, the Referee shall stop play as outlined above and in this case asses the goalkeeper a minor penalty for delaying the game.”

I first learned about the rule 9.6 during the 2009-10 season when I was playing for the AHL’s Albany Devils. I remember it like it was yesterday. There was a goalmouth scramble, and my mask got knocked off by a member of the opposing Portland Pirates. Without thinking, I made two saves in quick succession without a helmet.

I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to believe it. I thought it was such a dangerous situation — and I was hot about it. But Hebert was emphatic, so I did my best to let it go.

After the game, I called my friend and former bantam hockey teammate Jamie Koharski. I knew he’d be able to explain the rule to me in detail: he’d been an AHL referee for quite some time. His uncle Terry Koharski was as well. And Jamie’s dad Don had just retired from a long NHL career wearing the stripes.

I wish I could say Jamie made me feel better, but when he explained that Hebert made the right call, I was incensed. I couldn’t believe that the rule stated that play should continue. What if I’d eaten that puck? I didn’t sign up to be Glenn Hall and play without a mask!

To be fair, I do understand why Rule 9.6 is written the way it is. The NHL doesn’t want to take away scoring chances that are already in motion. And thankfully during Wednesday night’s sequence, Kuemper escaped injury. Cirelli had plenty of open net to aim at, far away from Kuemper’s exposed head.

But all it’s going to take is one major injury for the rule to change. If Cirelli had hooked that shot to the near post and the puck struck Kuemper, I don’t even want to think about the damage it could have caused.

I’d like to see Rule 9.6 changed. I think it should be an automatic whistle when the goalie’s mask comes off. 

But I also think the NHL needs to step in and help fund research aimed at improving the buckles on goalie masks. There’s no excuse for the straps to be flying off every time a goalkeeper takes a puck to the face.

It’s 2022, and the technology involved in producing hockey equipment is astounding. So why are we still using an antiquated system of snaps and buckles to secure goalie masks? Look at what a puck does when it impacts a goalie mask, and how the straps react.

I think the equipment manufacturers have been sitting on their hands for too long, content with the status quo. They need to be pushed by the NHL to find a solution. If that takes adding a regulation to the rule book pertaining to mask buckles, so be it.

Manufacturers will push back, saying research and development is expensive. And that’s true. Any new regulation will come with a cost. But I think the NHL owes it to the players to keep them safe. And fans deserve the best on-ice product possible.

Cirelli’s goal was a tough break for Darcy Kuemper early in Game 4, but he was able to power through adversity and stop 37 of 39 Lightning shots. I thought it was the Avalanche netminder’s best game of the 2021-22 Stanley Cup playoffs.

But more than anything, I’m just glad he wasn’t injured when his mask came off. I like the spirit of Rule 9.6. Scoring chances are at a premium in the NHL. And it’s a rare occurrence that a goalie faces a shot without a mask. 

But I think the risks of Rule 9.6 outweigh the benefits. Improve the masks. Keep them on the goalies’ heads. All it takes is a plan.