The offside rule has been core to the NHL since 1929, essentially creating a way to prevent forwards from getting too much of an advantage on defensive skaters and the opposing goaltender.
Even with it having been around for nearly a century, it’s not always the easiest of the sport’s rules to grasp as a novice to the league or hockey.
Here, you’ll find out everything that you need to know about the offside rule in hockey.
What Is The Offside Rule In Hockey?
The offside rule dictates that a player can’t enter the offensive zone before the puck does. The offensive zone is marked out by the blue line at the opposite end to where that player’s goaltender stands.
From an overhead view at the halfway line, if a team has their goaltender in the net on the left, the offensive zone will be everything to the right side of the blue line on the right.
Passing this blue line before the puck breaks the plane of the blue line and making a play thereafter is deemed to be offside. The offside rule is only for attacking teams: defensive players can always be on their side of the blue line.
This can be ruled when a player carries the puck into the offensive end while a teammate is offside or if the player is in an offside position and takes a pass from a player who was in the neutral zone.
It’s a way to stop forwards from simply loitering in the offensive end in search of easy scoring opportunities.
In most forms of hockey, the player is judged on the position of their skates. Their head, shoulders, knee, or stick can overhang the blue line and not be offside, but they will be offside if both skates are beyond the blue line before the puck. One skate passing the blue line before the puck is fine.
Some NHL teams have become particularly good at coaxing opponents into being offside, with the New York Rangers being the prime example.
The Rangers saw opponents commit 185 offsides last season. This demonstrates the defensive know-how of the team that should carry to next season, powering their +650 in the NHL betting to win the Eastern Conference.
What Is Delayed Offside In Ice Hockey?
Delayed offside is a hybrid technique put in play by the officials of some hockey competitions, like the NHL, to allow play to continue if the defensive players recover the puck.
A situation for a delayed offside would usually take the form of an attacking player being in the offensive zone before a player on their team forces the puck into the offensive zone while not having possession – such as via a check that results in the puck floating into the offensive end.
The offside remains delayed until the offside attacking skater touches the puck or checks an opponent. At this point, the play is stopped. The attacking team can nullify the potential call by returning to the neutral zone.
If the offside player returns to an onside position and the defending team picks up the puck to play on, regular play can continue, and the game won’t be stopped.
What Happens When An Offside Is Called In Hockey?
When an offside is called in hockey, the game is stopped, and the play will restart at the faceoff dot closest to where the offside was ruled.
This usually sees the puck dropped on one of the two faceoff dots closest to the defending team’s goal in the neutral zone.
However, if the offside is deemed to be an intentional offside, the faceoff takes place in the attacking team’s defensive side of the halfway line in the neutral zone.
Is There An Advantage To Playing Offside In Hockey?
There isn’t an advantage to playing offside in hockey, but in a league like the NHL, being deemed offside more often could simply indicate that the transition play from defence to attack is swift.
You could argue that this was the case for the Colorado Avalanche in 2022/23. They ended up with the second-highest count of offside rulings against at 201 – narrowly behind the Flames (215) but well ahead of the Coyotes (180).
Yet, by the end of the regular season, the Avs had scored the ninth-most goals at 280. They’ll be hoping to refine the offensive transition play next season and capitalize on the +850 in online sports betting markets to take the Western Conference crown next season.
Committing many offsides can just be a part of the style of play, but it could also showcase inexperience among the wingers or a lack of puck-moving ability from the team’s defensemen or centers.
What Are The Official NHL Rules For Offside?
Following copious problems with offside rules, the NHL made a change for the 2020/21 campaign, with technology allowing the process of ruling an offside to be refined.
While it used to be that a player’s skate had to be on the ice behind the blue line to be onside, the new rules under 83.1 of the rulebook state that it can be hovering onside instead.
The official line is: "A player is onside when either of their skates is in contact with the blue line, or on their own side of the line, at the instant the puck completely crosses the leading edge of the blue line."
As for the leading edge of the blue line, that is the edge furthest away from the attacking player’s own goal. It’s also defined as a plane that goes from the ice directly upwards.
So, while the blue line is quite a thick marking on the ice, only the plane from the outside line furthest from the attacker’s goal matters for ruling offside or onside.
If any part of both of a player’s skates breaks this blue line plane, they will be ruled offside.
What Is The Icing Rule In Hockey?
Icing limits where the puck can be passed from, attempting to discourage defending skaters from simply shooting the puck all of the way up the ice to relieve defensive pressure.
Icing is called when a player passes the puck from their own side of the halfway line, and it ends up behind the goal line of the offensive zone.
The punishment is brutal as the faceoff returns to the offending player’s defensive zone. The main reason why a play like this wouldn’t be called icing is if a team trying to kill a penalty clears the puck.
There is a way around icing, however, with a technique known as “dumping the puck.” It’s very similar to icing, but if you pass the puck from beyond the halfway line and it goes behind the opposing goal, it’s not a foul.
Most teams use this to buy some time to get a line change, but others with physical power forwards in the team will dump the puck to force some pressure along the boards in the offensive zone and try to dig the puck out.
Offside in hockey is quite a straightforward rule, but given the speed of the game, it can be tough to clock and work out when a player is and isn’t onside. Hopefully, this guide has helped you to understand this key rule of the sport.
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
