IIHF

Never Run the Goalie

Deliberately targeting an opposing goaltender with a big hit — especially when they're set in the crease — is one of hockey's most serious code violations. Even when technically legal, going out of your way to hit the goalie signals disrespect for the game and guarantees immediate retaliation from the opposing team.

Goalies are considered protected figures in hockey culture; the code predates modern goalie interference rules.

Protect Your Goalie — Or Someone Answers

If an opponent runs your goaltender, at least one teammate must immediately confront the offender. Allowing your goalie to be hit without response is considered a failure of team character and signals the team can be intimidated. This duty often falls to the team's enforcer or toughest player.

More prominent in the pre-instigator-rule NHL era but persists at all competitive levels.

The Playoff Handshake Line Is Sacred

After a playoff series, both teams line up at center ice and shake hands with every opponent. Refusing to participate, going through it half-heartedly, or skipping players is considered one of hockey's gravest sportsmanship failures. The tradition is observed from youth playoffs through the Stanley Cup Finals and IIHF tournaments.

Uniquely hockey — no equivalent tradition exists quite like this in other major team sports.

No Cheap Shots After the Whistle

Continuing to hit, slash, cross-check, or agitate an opponent after the referee blows the whistle is a serious breach of the code beyond whatever penalty it may draw. It is widely seen as cowardly — attacking when the player is no longer defending themselves — and guarantees a retaliatory response.

The Code of Fighting: Consent, Fairness, One-on-One

Staged fights follow implicit rules: both players must agree (drop gloves together), fight fairly (no sucker punches, no hitting a downed opponent), and teammates stand clear. Jumping someone from behind, attacking a player already engaged, or continuing to punch a fallen opponent are serious violations within the fighting code.

Most prominent in NHL culture; IIHF international play carries automatic game ejection for fighting, limiting its role there.

Don't Run Up the Score

When a team holds a commanding lead late in the game, they are expected to ease off — pulling star players, cycling the puck rather than shooting, avoiding additional scoring. Aggressively pursuing goals in a lopsided game is seen as showing up the opposition and will be remembered in the next meeting.

More rigidly observed in league play between rivals who face each other repeatedly.

Enforcers Protect Stars — They Are Off Limits for Cheap Shots

Skilled players are understood to be under the implicit protection of the team's enforcer. Taking unnecessary runs at a star player signals willingness to escalate and the enforcer is expected to respond. Teams without a credible physical presence are seen as vulnerable to opponents targeting their top players.

The canonical example: Dave Semenko and Marty McSorley's presence made targeting Wayne Gretzky prohibitively costly for opponents throughout the 1980s.

No Diving or Embellishment — Play Through Contact

Embellishing contact to draw a penalty is widely condemned in hockey culture. Players are expected to absorb physicality and demonstrate toughness. Being labeled a diver carries lasting reputational damage — officials and opponents give less benefit of the doubt on all future plays, making it strategically self-defeating as well as culturally scorned.

More sharply stigmatized in hockey than most contact sports due to the sport's deep identity around physical toughness.