When the rosters are revealed Wednesday afternoon for the NHL’s “4 Nations Face-Off” event, we know one Seattle Kraken whose name won’t be listed: goalie Joey Daccord. And not because he isn’t wanted.
Teams of NHLers and European pros representing the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Finland will play the inaugural tournament in Montreal and Boston beginning Feb. 12. Daccord, who was born in the U.S. to a Canadian dad and Swiss mom, would theoretically be available to both the American and Canadian squads.
Team Canada, without an especially strong netminding pool, would especially welcome Daccord, who’s a Canadian citizen. However, according to Sportsnet.ca, Daccord is ineligible – for the moment – because he lacks a Canadian passport.
A potential loophole, reports Elliotte Friedman, is that “If one of the Canadian goaltenders that is selected gets injured, and Daccord was to get a passport between now and the start of the tournament, he could be selected.” The Kraken netminder has better numbers than other likely Team Canada options, the Blues’ Jordan Binnington, the Wild’s Marc-Andre Fleury, and the Red Wings’ Cam Talbot.
We doubt Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong would pull a Tonya Harding to get Daccord on his squad if none of his netminders are legitimately hurt. Caveat: the NHL could suspend its passport-required rule, because they make the rules, to allow Daccord to play. That would render the drama discussed above completely moot. We shall see.
And how’s this for a dash more of international intrigue: should the Kraken miss the playoffs, Daccord could choose to play in May’s IIHF World Championship for Canada, or the U.S., or for Switzerland.
Should the Kraken make the postseason, Daccord might have the same trio of options in advance of the 2026 Winter Olympics. Wouldn’t it be something for Daccord to play for one nation in February, and a different one down the road.
Daccord Not A Fan Of NHL Rule 27.7
The Big Book of Hockey Wisdom says a goalie needs to be a team’s best penalty killer. That’s apparently not enough special teams action for Daccord. At least once a week, he pesters Kraken coach Dan Bylsma with a most unusual request, telling the coach, “I’m ready for half-wall power play time.”
Say what?
@Jennthulhu_Photos
“I still wish I could also play forward,” Daccord said with a broad grin and a laugh on the What Chaos podcast.
“Scoring goals is like so fun. Every time I’m not playing, I take one-timers at the end of warmups. I’ve got a pretty good one-timer in my goalie gear. If I could still play forward on the games I wasn’t playing goalie, I would totally do that.”
Of course, he totally can’t do that. It’s in the NHL rule book, rule 27.7.
“If a goalkeeper participates in the play in any manner (intentionally plays the puck or checks an opponent) when he is beyond the center red line, a minor penalty shall be imposed upon him.”
As to why that rule is on the books, credit – or blame – Maple Leafs rookie Gary Smith, described by the Toronto Star as their “colorful wandering goalie.” Sports Collectors Daily describes the amazing scene at the Montreal Forum on Dec. 21, 1966. “(Smith) took possession of the puck and skated up to the red line before attempting to pass it to a teammate. Canadiens defender J.C. Tremblay intercepted it and the crowd roared as Smith scrambled back to the net. Thankfully, no goal was scored.”
The NHL’s head official, Frank Udvari, said later, “There’s nothing in the rule book now, but we may have to revise that rule.” And so they did.
Joey has clearly given this topic some thought. “They need to change the red line rule so that on delayed penalties, I’m not going to the bench (to be replaced by an extra forward), I’m going to the other team’s net front. With my goalie stick, think about the tips I could do. I bet you I could score five goals a year.”
Be careful what you wish for, Joey. The other goalies might stop returning your texts, or inviting you to their parties, or letting you borrow their new goalie equipment catalogs.