Let them decline penalty shots

I'm going to go criticize one of the rules in the NHL that is not a new problem. Specifically, I don't like how penalty shots work.


My biggest issue with penalty shots is that they can actually punish a team for having a better opportunity when the other team commits a penalty. I would say that penalty shots are generally more valuable than a standard penalty, but there are definitely exceptions. I want teams to be asked if they want the penalty shot. They should be able to decline the shot and receive a standard power play if they would prefer.

One issue I have is that not everyone is good at penalty shots. If a team likes their chances better with a power play, they shouldn't be forced to take a penalty shot instead.

Another issue is time management. Late in a game, the team that's ahead probably would prefer to kill the clock. A penalty shot takes no time. If a goal is scored on the power play, at least some time will be taken off. If no goal is scored, that's still two minutes where it is more difficult for the other team to score.

If a team is up by one with two minutes to go, a penalty shot would result in either a one or two goal lead with two minutes left. By comparison, taking the power play would demand the other team scores shorthanded to tie the game. Even if the game was tied, there would still be remaining time on the power play and overtime. Let's not forget that the team on the power play could score to put their team two up with less than two minutes to go.