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BOCA RATON, Fla. -- Goaltender interference and diving were the main topics on the agenda during the first day of the National Hockey League's general managers meetings Monday. The group went over what constitutes interference and how it is currently being interpreted, with further discussion expected Tuesday on possible expanded video review to address the issue. The issue at hand is deciding whether some level of video review -- which is already used in other aspects of the game -- should be introduced to in-game action. Although there seems to be a growing concern about how interference is interpreted and officiated, there is also some reluctance to introduce any additional review that could impede the natural flow of the game. Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford, however, seemed to feel differently on the subject and said that his small group seemed open to implementing change. "Just based on the group we had, a smaller group, we did feel that made some sense," Rutherford said. "That has to go to a bigger group and have more of an open discussion about it. I think we're at the point where that's something we'd recommend." Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray, however, did not seem keen on the idea. "I don't think we're going to go to video replay, for example, with goaltender interference, I really don't," Murray said. "I think that has to be left to the officials to make a judgment call on the ice. Some nights we're not happy, but the majority of the calls that I've seen anyway so far have been the right call." The NHL's department of hockey operations also went over the newly implemented policy on diving and embellishment, put into place this season with an emphasis on publicizing repeat offenders. Director of hockey operations Colin Campbell said the department showed the GMs the collection of diving incidents from this past week, to give them a glimpse into the entire process. Campbell also said the GMs were presented with the idea of hockey ops informing officials who to watch out for before and during the postseason. "Every little play counts in the playoffs," Campbell said. "And then you're going to get players embellishing in the playoffs, and one of the key questions before they departed the room was: Do you want us informing the referees of who we think the individuals are who embellish more often than others?" The answer? Campbell said "most" managers agree that this would be helpful, although a "few" did not seem keen to the idea. "We thought it was relevant that the referees should know. It's the hardest call on the ice for an official, embellishment," Campbell said. "It's not easy on video review, but it's much easier on video review than it is on the ice. And on the other hand, if you're not cheating, you're not trying. And players will try anything." Edmonton Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish said that most officials are already aware of the habitual offenders anyway, without a need to be reminded. "Nobody likes to get shown up on a call, especially the officials. You know, they can be a vindictive group at times, as we all know, so if they do get shown up through a dive, that's going to travel quickly through the ranks," MacTavish said. "I don't take this as really anything new, it's more of a formalized process to share that information. It's always been around since I was in the league back in the late '70s." The topic of the emergency goaltender was also broached, given that the Florida Panthers encountered a scenario earlier this month in which they saw their two goaltenders Roberto Luongo and Al Montoya go down with successive injuries in a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although goaltending coach Robb Tallas was on hand in case he was needed, there was some initial confusion about who was allowed to suit up. The league would like to streamline that process and perhaps go to a designated goaltender situation, where a team has one or multiple backup options on hand for each game. "You should probably have a designated goaltender in the building that if worse comes to worst, he'd be allowed to play," Campbell said. While most teams have someone on staff with goaltending experience, it remains to be seen whether those people would be eligible. Campbell said that the NHL's central registry will have some input on that issue. Rutherford assured reporters that, no matter how dire the situation, he will never find himself between the pipes. "We discussed it, and it needs a little more discussion. We agree that having somebody, a third goalie available, not necessarily a guy that's on a contract makes some sense. We don't want to get into the same situation as Florida did," Rutherford said. "And it won't be me."
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