One of the hot topics coming out of the Four Nations, besides the games themselves, was the 3 v 3 overtime game between Canada and Sweden, along with Finland and Sweden. Since the Four Nations was an NHL and NHLPA event, the rules were a little different. Mainly, the 3 v 3 overtime was going to be played at 10 minutes instead of the traditional five minutes.
The Sweden—Canada game went past the five-minute mark and ended in the sixth minute of overtime. Players debated whether or not to expand the game. Some of the older guys thought, the younger might like it. However, even some of the best players, like Nathan MacKinnon, weren’t so sure about 10 minutes.
The Great Debate: Should the NHL Extend 3v3 Overtime to 10 Minutes?
Again, these coaches ride their best players in overtime every other shift to win the game. In a 10-minute 3 v 3 overtime, coaches will have to use their bench even more than they do already. MacKinnon told the media that maybe seven minutes would be perfect.
This got people talking about the potential of expanding the overtime session in the NHL regular season from five minutes to 10 minutes to prevent as many shootouts. However, it appears the League and the Players are not interested in making that change. Not even adding two extra minutes to overtime. It wasn’t even a topic of conversation.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was on Sirius XM NHL Network Radio on Wednesday morning before the GM Meetings in Florida wrapped up, and he said it didn’t get any traction.
Like, one of the things I was wondering about, and I know they kind of talked about it a bit, was increasing before they got here, they talked about increasing 3-on-3 overtime because of the Canada-Sweden OT at the Four Nations, where (Mitch) Marner scored the overtime winner. But it doesn’t sound like that really got any steam. So I don’t know that we’re going to see much of anything in terms of rule changes.
Once the meetings wrapped up, Commissioner Bettman addressed the media and told them he was not a fan and he was worried about deteriorating ice conditions and additional wear and tear on the players.
Bettman says he is “not a fan” of extending length of 3-on-3 overtime for deterioration of ice conditions and the additional wear and tear on players.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 19, 2025
The second part is true, considering the top players like MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Cale Makar, Leon Draisaitl, Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Brady Tkachuk, and others are always out there. They play three-quarters of the overtime period. And with games being back-to-back, there could be an increase in injuries.
Changing NHL Overtime Format Has Unintended Consequences
We are not saying the first part of the statement about deteriorating ice conditions is false. Still, the ice conditions in the Four Nations remained the same in the overtime period. Similarly, the ice conditions are the same at the end of the third period as they are in overtime because the Zamboni does not scrape in between periods.
However, it is clear the NHL has no appetite to expand the 3 v 3 overtime beyond the five minutes it is being played. In most games, at least 77 percent are finished in the extra session rather than the shootout. So, if stats don’t lie, this is the stat the NHL is banking on.
The ice didn’t deteriorate at the Four Nations between Canada and Sweden.
Doesn’t sound like the players wanted it. As MacKinnon said at 4 Nations maybe two minutes but doesn’t sound like they want it. #nhl @TheRGMedia @FullPressNHL @NHLrumorsX https://t.co/x1caE31LNd
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) March 19, 2025
However, the response at the GMs’ Meetings also suggests that the Players don’t want it either. But the 10-minute 3 v 3 overtime was fun at the Four Nations.
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