Bettman says NHL will look to expand video review process

Gary Bettman says the NHL will look to expand its video review process, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Speaking during his annual league address prior to the start of the Stanley Cup Final, the commissioner said the league will now determine what plays will be subject to future reviews.

"This is the challenge," Bettman said. "This is the challenge we will focus on and we will meet."

What the new review process will include is yet to be determined, and Bettman said that will be discussed when the league's general managers convene on June 20, according to TSN's Pierre LeBrun.

Bettman did add, however, that the league won't get carried away.

"The flow of the game would be inalterably affected if we reviewed everything," Bettman said, per TSN's Gino Reda.

Reviews have been a major controversy throughout the postseason. In Game 7 between the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks, Cody Eakin was wrongfully assessed a match penalty for a cross-check on Joe Pavelski. The Sharks scored four goals on a power play that shouldn't have happened and won the series.

Then in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final, Sharks forward Timo Meier set up the overtime winner with a hand pass, and that play isn't reviewable under current NHL rules.

Bettman said the Meier play bothers him.

"What I thought was it would be good if my head didn't explode," he said, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

Bettman also said no teams will be travelling to China for preseason games prior to the 2019-20 campaign, and there's been no movement between the NHL and IIHF regarding the 2022 Olympics.

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