Andrei Vasilevskiy Caught Trying to Cheat NHL Rules
Andrei Vasilevskiy is one of the best goaltenders in the NHL, and he has now been caught trying to skirt the rules to gain an advantage.
Vasilevskiy Skirts Equipment Rules to Gain Advantage
Players are always trying to gain an edge in the NHL, and when they spot an opportunity to play within the grey areas of the rules, they take full advantage. That is exactly what Vasilevskiy has done with his recent equipment change.
Currently, most equipment colours are mandated by the NHL. However, the goalie's skate holders are not. Vasilevskiy has taken full advantage, making his holders black.
No rule on the color there... only requirement is that the stick knob has to be white tape.
Anything to Gain a Competitive Advantage Over the Other Team
The black shareholders are an intentional move by Vasy to better hide the puck from reviews. Often when goals are close, the review camera overhead or behind the net is vital in overturning or confirming goals. However, clear evidence has to be available to the booth in order to overturn a call.
Wearing black shareholders will intentionally make it more difficult for reviewers to clarify between the skate and the puck, making it harder to confirm if a puck has crossed the line. This is within the rules, at least for now.
As seen on Blade of Steel - "Andrei Vasilevskiy makes equipment change to help him interfere with NHL review challenges"
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 22 | 185 ANSWERS Andrei Vasilevskiy Caught Trying to Cheat NHL Rules Do you think the rule should be changed? | ||
| Yes | 125 | 67.6 % |
| No | 60 | 32.4 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Bryan Rust | 2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Sidney Crosby | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Tyson Foerster | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Sean Monahan | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kevin Fiala | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Joel Kiviranta | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Anze Kopitar | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ilya Mikheyev | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Warren Foegele | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Luke Hughes | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Zach Hyman | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Erik Karlsson | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Rickard Rakell | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brady Skjei | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Filip Forsberg | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 34 | 23 | 10 | 1 | 47 | |
Golden Knights | 32 | 21 | 8 | 3 | 45 | |
Devils | 35 | 21 | 11 | 3 | 45 | |
Capitals | 31 | 21 | 8 | 2 | 44 | |
Wild | 32 | 20 | 8 | 4 | 44 | |
Maple Leafs | 32 | 20 | 10 | 2 | 42 | |
Kings | 32 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 42 | |
Panthers | 33 | 20 | 11 | 2 | 42 | |
Hurricanes | 31 | 20 | 10 | 1 | 41 | |
Oilers | 32 | 19 | 11 | 2 | 40 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||