(Photo Credit: Golden Knights YouTube)

Golden Knights bench boss Bruce Cassidy is one of the best coaches in the entire NHL. One of the big reasons for that is that he’s about as big of a hockey nerd as you’ll find on this planet.

Recently, while chatting with the media at an off-day press conference, Cassidy went down an interesting rabbit hole in which he shared what he described as his “dream rule change.”

The idea is actually borrowed from another “get the thing in the thing” sport, soccer. Cassidy believes that when a player goes offside, rather than blowing the whistle and lining up for a faceoff in the neutral zone, the team that committed the infraction should have to give possession of the puck to the opposing team.

In soccer, this is done with a free kick from the spot of the infraction, which wouldn’t really work in hockey. So, instead, Cassidy says the team that went offside should have to retreat.

We’re the ones who broke the rule, so just give the team the puck. -Cassidy

Logistically, he says he’s not sure if that would mean a team would have to touch up to the center line or simply clear the zone before the puck is touched by the defending team, but either way, it would result in a much more defined turnover rather than a faceoff.

It would be one less faceoff in the neutral zone where not a lot happens. it would keep the transition of the game going and I think you’d see more pace. -Cassidy

This season, the Golden Knights have gone offside 108 times while their opponents have done it 105 times. In the NHL, there have been a total of 3,574 offside whistles this season. With 908 games played so far, that’s about four offside calls per game.

Cassidy’s suggested rule would eliminate 3.5% of faceoffs in the NHL, and more importantly, would speed the game up by at least a few minutes a night, as it takes around 30-45 seconds to put the puck back in play after any stoppage.

There’s really not much of a counterargument against it either. Who knows? Maybe it’ll happen one day. And if that rule ever goes into effect, you’ll know exactly where it came from.