BREAKING: NHL announces MAJOR rule change - Effective next season

Rule 20.6 previously only allowed the officials to confirm the original major penalty call or downgrade it to a minor. They now have a third option to wipe it out completely.

Here's the updated rule, change in bold:

The Referee shall have the following options after video review of his own call: (i) confirming his original Major Penalty call; (ii) reducing his original Major Penalty call to a lesser penalty; or (iii) rescinding the original Major Penalty altogether.

The old rule also required the officials downgrade the penalty to a lesser penalty of the same infraction. That is no longer the case. A major boarding penalty could, after review, be downgraded to a minor for cross-checking.

This change does not apply to match penalty reviews.