How a penalty works
Under the NHL's 2026-2027 Rule 15.1, if the foul is committed by a player of the team in control of the puck, the referee blows the whistle at once. If it is committed by the other team, the referee raises an arm to signal a delayed penalty and stops play when the team to be penalised gains control of the puck. The penalised player then goes to the penalty box. For a minor or major penalty no substitute is allowed, so the team plays short-handed and the other team has a power play. For a misconduct a substitute comes on, so the team stays at full strength. Each rulebook below sets out its own penalty types and lengths.
IIHF: Official Rule Book 2026/27
| Penalty | IIHF rule |
|---|---|
| Minor (Rule 16) | 2 minutes, no substitute; ends automatically if the short-handed team concedes, except on a penalty-shot goal |
| Bench minor (Rule 17) | 2 minutes, served by a player the coach chooses through the captain |
| Double minor (Rule 18) | 4 minutes; a goal during the delayed call wipes out one of the two minors |
| Major (Rule 20) | 5 minutes, no substitute, served in full even if a goal is scored; for a physical foul that recklessly endangers an opponent |
| Automatic game misconduct (Rules 20.4 and 21) | Follows a second major or second misconduct in a game, majors for certain listed fouls, and any action not covered by the rules that endangers anyone |
| Misconduct (Rule 22) | 10 minutes; a substitute replaces the player at once |
| Game misconduct (Rule 23) | Out for the rest of the game, substitute allowed; recorded as 20 minutes |
| Match penalty | Not in the 2026/27 IIHF rule list |
Wikipedia (secondary) says the IIHF dropped the match penalty in its 2023/24 rules in favour of a major plus a game misconduct, which matches its absence from the 2026/27 book. The same Wikipedia article says every IIHF major carries an automatic game misconduct. The IIHF's own 2026/27 Rule 20.4 says otherwise: the automatic game misconduct applies to a second major or misconduct, or to majors for infractions listed in its tables. The rulebook is the primary source.
NHL: Official Rules 2026-2027
| Penalty | NHL rule |
|---|---|
| Minor (Rule 16) | 2 minutes, no substitute; the first such penalty ends if the opponents score, but not on a penalty-shot goal |
| Double minor (Rule 18) | 4 minutes; a goal during the delayed call washes out one of the two minors |
| Major (Rule 20) | 5 minutes, no substitute; the player stays in the box for the full 5 minutes even if the other team scores |
| Automatic game misconduct (Rule 20.4) | Applied for a third major in the same game, and in other listed cases |
| Video review of majors (Rule 20.6) | Referees review every play that results in a major, except a major for fighting, to confirm or change the call |
| Misconduct (Rule 22) | 10 minutes; a substitute may replace the player at once |
| Game misconduct (Rule 23) | Out for the rest of the game, substitute allowed; 10 minutes in the league records |
| Match penalty (Rule 21) | For deliberately injuring or attempting to injure an opponent; the player is sent to the dressing room, a teammate serves 5 minutes, 15 minutes go on the record, and the player is suspended until the Commissioner rules |
Coincidental minors, one to a player on each team at the same stoppage with no other penalties showing, are served without substitution, so the teams play four skaters against four (Rule 19). Fighting draws a major under the NHL's Rule 46, which gives referees wide latitude and adds a game misconduct for a player judged to be the aggressor. Wikipedia (secondary) notes that the NHL abolished the gross misconduct penalty; the 2026-2027 NHL text checked for this site contains no gross misconduct.
Hockey Canada: Playing Rules 2026-2028
| Penalty | Hockey Canada rule |
|---|---|
| Minor (Rule 4.2) | 2 minutes of playing time, short-handed; the minor with the least time left ends when the other team scores; for a double minor, the first minor ends |
| Bench minor (Rule 4.3) | 2 minutes, served by the identified offender or a player on the ice chosen by the coach through the captain |
| Major (Rule 4.4) | 5 minutes; every major also brings a game misconduct, and the player is reported to the Member or league |
| Misconduct (Rule 4.7) | 10 minutes of playing time; a substitute is allowed at once |
| Game ejection (Rule 4.8(b)) | For three minors for stick infractions in one game, or, in minor and female divisions, three head-contact penalties; no time recorded and no automatic suspension |
| Game misconduct (Rule 4.8) | Out for the game, substitute allowed, 10 minutes recorded; one given in the last 10 minutes of regulation, in overtime or after the game brings an automatic suspension of at least the next game or seven days |
| Gross misconduct (Rule 4.9) | Out for the game, substitute allowed, 10 minutes recorded |
| Match penalty (Rule 4.10) | 5-minute time penalty served by a teammate; the player is sent off and may not play again until the Member or league has dealt with the case |
Two points stand out against the IIHF and NHL rules. Under Hockey Canada's 2026-28 Rule 4.4, a major always comes with a game misconduct, where the NHL waits for a third major and the IIHF for a second, except for majors for fouls each of them lists. And a fight brings a major and a game misconduct under Hockey Canada's Rule 7.10, which says a minor may not be given for fighting.
USA Hockey: 2025-29 rules
The USA Hockey 2025-29 rulebook text could not be read for this site, so its penalty definitions and lengths are not set out here. USA Hockey's own summary of the 2025-29 changes (16 September 2025) is covered on the offside and icing and women's hockey pages.
Common fouls
The names of the fouls are much the same everywhere. The IIHF's 2026/27 minor-penalty table includes boarding, charging, clipping, cross-checking, delay of game, elbowing, high-sticking, holding, holding the stick, hooking, illegal check to the head or neck, interference, kneeing, roughing, slashing, tripping and unsportsmanlike conduct, among others. Its bench minors include too many players on the ice and illegal substitution.
NHL.com's Video Rulebook groups fouls into families:
- Restraining fouls: holding, hooking, interference, tripping.
- Stick fouls: high-sticking, butt-ending, cross-checking, slashing, spearing.
- Physical fouls: boarding, checking from behind, clipping, elbowing, fighting, head-butting, illegal check to the head, kicking, kneeing, roughing, slew-footing, throwing equipment.
- Other fouls, such as delay of game.
Hockey Canada's 2026-28 rules use similar families: physical fouls (Section 7), restraining fouls (Section 8), stick fouls (Section 9), other fouls (Section 10) and maltreatment (Section 11).
Definitions are converging. High-sticking in the NHL's 2026-2027 Rule 60.1 is contact above the shoulders, provided the opponent's shoulders are at waist level or higher. Scouting the Refs reported that this wording arrived for 2025-26, and the IIHF adopted it in its 2026/27 Rule 60.1. For how often fouls are called, TSN (20 October 2025) reported that early in the 2025-26 NHL season tripping remained the most common minor, and that calls were up on recent seasons.
Penalty shots
A penalty shot gives back a scoring chance that a foul took away. Under the IIHF's 2026/27 Rule 24, the shooter starts from the centre spot, must keep the puck moving toward the goal, and may not score on a rebound. A 360-degree spin is not allowed, and the lacrosse-style pick-up is allowed only if the puck stays below shoulder height and is not released above the crossbar.
In the NHL, the 2026-2027 Rule 57.3 awards a penalty shot when a player in the neutral or attacking zone, with no opponent left to beat except the goaltender, is tripped or fouled from behind and loses a reasonable scoring chance. Scouting the Refs (2023) lists other NHL penalty-shot situations, including a defender throwing a stick at the puck or the carrier, deliberately dislodging the net late in a game, and a skater other than the goaltender covering the puck in the crease.
Sources
- IIHF Official Rule Book 2026/27 (PDF)
- National Hockey League, Official Rules 2026-2027 (PDF)
- Hockey Canada, Playing Rules 2026-2028 (PDF)
- NHL.com, Video Rulebook
- Wikipedia, Penalty (ice hockey) (secondary)
- Scouting the Refs, penalty shots explained (November 2023)
- Scouting the Refs, NHL rule book updates for 2025-26 (September 2025)
- TSN, NHL officials filling the penalty box (20 October 2025)
- USA Hockey, 2025-29 playing rules changes (16 September 2025)