A San Jose Sharks Blog

NHL Rule 10.5

A request for a stick measurement shall be limited to one request per team during the course of any stoppage in play.

When a formal complaint is made by the Captain or Alternate Captain of a team, against the dimensions of any stick of an opponent, that opponent must be on the ice at the time the request is made to the Referee. Once the request is made, and as long as the Officials maintain visual contact with the stick, it can be measured. This means that if the player whose stick is about to be measured steps off the ice onto his players’ bench, his stick may still be measured provided the request was received prior to him leaving the ice surface and the stick remains in the view of at least one of the on-ice Officials.

The Referee shall take the stick to the penalty bench where the necessary measurement shall be made immediately. Players on both teams shall retire to their respective benches. To measure the curvature of the blade of the stick, the Referee must draw an imaginary line along the outside of the shaft to the bottom of the blade and then along the bottom of the blade - this will determine the location of the heel. Using a League-approved measuring gauge, the Referee shall secure the gauge at the heel of the stick and measure the curvature of the blade from the heel to any point along the toe of the blade. To measure any other dimension of the stick, the Referee shall use a measuring tape.

The result shall be reported to the Penalty Timekeeper, who shall record it on the back of the Penalty Record form. The Referee will convey the result of the measurement to Captain or Alternate Captain of the player whose stick was measured. If the stick proves to be illegal, the stick shall remain at the penalty bench until the end of the game.

A player whose stick has been measured and it is found not to conform to the provisions of this rule shall be assessed a minor penalty and a fine of two hundred dollars ($200). For a second offense in the same season, the player shall (in addition to the minor penalty) be fined one thousand dollars ($1000). For a third offense in the same season, the player shall (in addition to the minor penalty) be assessed a game misconduct and an automatic one game suspension. For all additional violations in the same season, the automatic suspension to the player shall (in addition to the minor penalty and game misconduct assessed during the game) double for each subsequent violation of this rule (i.e. first suspension - one game, second suspension - two games, third suspension – four games etc.)

If the complaint is not sustained, a bench minor penalty shall be imposed against the complaining Club in addition to a fine of one hundred dollars ($100).