Or conversely call every single penalty black and white as it is written in the rule book. After a month of power play festivals watch the clutching and grabbing disappear.
Yes, call the interference! Call the slug who has to tackle the guy who is about to beat him to a loose puck because the slug can't skate with him. If they called the interference that went on, it would be faster, more open, more chances and a lot more exciting. No need to 'increase the size of the nets'. If I wanted to see clutching and blocking, I'd go to a football game.
I'm a proponent of the theory that the rink, while remaining the same size physically, is actually smaller now due to the increased size and speed of modern NHL players. I think the ice dimensions should be enlarged somewhat (doesn't necessarily have to be as large as say olympic ice) to try and make the "relative dimensions" of the game more similar to where they were before.
the rink size increase would be difficult to do in buildings designed around specific rink size. which is most of them. its a great idea, but i don't think that is a realistic option.
I'd outlaw non-wood sticks and make goalies wear smaller equipment....
what kind of smaller equipment? right now the league has a mandated height on goalie leg pads. That in effect limits the height of the goalie.
Garth Snow's michelin man chest protector is one thing, but the lenth of leg pads just outlaws tall goalies and I am not for that.
solves need for physically expanding rink, allows more room to skate/pass, eliminates the equivalent of about 3 franchises=90 players (less 2 forwards/1 dman or 3 forwards/0 dmen per team), definitely increases the likelihood of offensive production, but MOST IMPORTANTLY places emphasis on skill (*which has helped the nba thrive, even post-Jordan)
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Originally Posted by Strizzi
Not necessarily. They could just allow bigger rinks, but not require them. this way, the teams who are able to could increase the size a bit, and the others leave them as it is.
That was kind of my point I just didn't say it very well. Very few teams are actively looking to build or are in the process of building new rinks, so bigger ice would only be in 2 or 3 buildings. If the league had a little foresight back in the early 90s, when a lot of buildings were scheduled to be replaced and before 2 rounds of expansion, then nearly half the rinks in the league would be bigger already with no loss of revenue to the owners.
As for your suggestion, better late than never I guess.
And a side note about the goalie pads, I have the solution to this and am very surprised the league hasn't thought of it. Instead of mandating the total height of the pad, enforce a limit over the knee, say 6".
Any goalie wearing pads where the top of the pad is more than 6" above his knee would be suspended 3 games and pay say $100,000. This method doesn't penalize goalies like Sean Burke or Olaf Kolzig who are big, tall men, but does penalize those looking for an unfair advantage.
Considering European rinks are larger and their scoring isn't any higher, rink size doesn't matter to me.
I'm one of the few who believe that todays NHL is more skilled than 10 years ago when fewer teams existed, simply because of the increase in European talent.
My suggestion is make the nets somewhat bigger, makes sense to me, larger players, and equipment take up the extra room, plus goalies are so much more agile and they can't complain about getting injured with lesser equipment, only thing that would hurt is their pride when a few more pucks go by them...think about how many times a team hits the post a game...
Ax Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa, Florida, Anaheim, Carolina, Phoenix and New Jersey.
22 team league, that would get rid of a lot of lower skill players and hopefully lead to more scoring and a higher level of hockey.
The problem with this method is that you would get rid of almost all the bad defencemen and bad goalies. And as it's proven time and time again that strong defence and good goaltending will prevail.
Well, I'm sure glad you guys aren't running the league, some of these ideas are just as bad (if not worse) than the NHL's, which got us into this mess.
The first rule of the NHL is to not mess with the NHL. All proposed rules should be eliminating some silly rule or change which was put in place over the last 10 to 15 years. Things worked fine for 60+ years, and then we make a major change?
I'd say the prime candidates are the size of goalie equipment, the moving of the blue and goal lines, and possibly the '95 CBA. The instigator just hasn't had the effect it's detractors think it does, so it's not worth considering.
If I had only one change, I'd limit the goalie equipment to 1990 levels or so. Watch the highlights of the Patrick Roy ceremony last night, when he was in Montreal he was a midget, in Colorado, a stuffed Sumo. The new space age plastics etc are the number one reason the save percentages have climbed, and the goals against have plummeted in the last 10-15 years.
With two changes, I'd put the ice back to the way it was in 1990. Three equal zones of 60 feet, not a tiny neutral zone like now. I scream every time I see an offside pass that's received an inch offside at the red line, because with the old ice, it would have been fine. That would make the trap much more difficult to implement again, so that only the best teams would be able to master it (like the old Canadiens could) and not every expansion team down the pike.
Or conversely call every single penalty black and white as it is written in the rule book. After a month of power play festivals watch the clutching and grabbing disappear.
Absolutely the best idea. And it doesn't really change anything..simply following the rules, as written, as they should have been followed all along.
The NHLPA will never agree to anything (drastic cutting of markets, 4 on 4 play, etc) that will eliminate jobs. So I think all of those are out the window.
That leaves any on ice or structural changes. Structural is out, because the newer buildings were built to old specs, and the owners won't give up the expensive, glass level seats.
On ice, eliminating: offsides/the redline/two line passes/etc all could work, although changes the way the game is currently played by introducing new rules.
Doesn't it make much more sense to use those already in place before creating more?
Unfortunately, it is not realistic to make the ice larger, now that all the arenas have been rebuilt. How come nobody thought about it 10 years ago.
First and foremost, you need to control goaltenders equipment. I agree with the comment on Patrick Roy, I mean look at any goalie that's been there for a while, and you can't compare his equipment to what it was 10-15 years ago. Goalies pads shold be long enough to protect them, but they don't have to be that WIDE ! A leg is not 12 inches wide, even if you're 220 lbs !! If you need to ban sticks other than wood then ban them.
Then eliminate the red line.
Forget coinciding minors, play more 4 on 4.
Change icing rule to automatic.
Dress 18 players -that's 2 goalies, 6 D and 10 forwards - no more 4th line.
And the cheerleaders aren't a bad idea...
I'd put the ice back to the way it was in 1990. Three equal zones of 60 feet, not a tiny neutral zone like now. I scream every time I see an offside pass that's received an inch offside at the red line, because with the old ice, it would have been fine. That would make the trap much more difficult to implement again, so that only the best teams would be able to master it (like the old Canadiens could) and not every expansion team down the pike.
This is definitely the first thing that I'd do if I ran the league.
Second is delay of game penalty for anyone who falls on the puck and stay's on it until the whistle is blown. This includes the goalie unless he's at least partially inside his crease.
third maybe soccer style points, 3 for win 1 points for tie win 0 point for lose
what kind of smaller equipment? right now the league has a mandated height on goalie leg pads. That in effect limits the height of the goalie.
Garth Snow's michelin man chest protector is one thing, but the lenth of leg pads just outlaws tall goalies and I am not for that.
Compare goalies equipment 10 yrs ago to today......its plain to see.
Bingo. That's the area that could really use *A LOT* of improvement. What I'd like to see in this respect is:
1. More accountability from the refs.
2. Implement the instant video review like the NFL. Let the coach call for an instant review of any play. How hard is it to put a big screen TV (or a hood like in the NFL) next to the rink? In the NFL the coach is limited to 3(?) reviews. I say let's make it unlimited in the NHL, except if the coach is wrong, the penalty is assessed to his team (just like with equipment measurement penalties now).
Get rid of defensive-minded coaches. Make it mandatory to hire coaches who preach offense first. The Adams trophy would be awarded to the coach whose team scores most goals.
What is the design? More offense? It has been pointed out that the offensive era of the NHL (80 or so to @ 93/94 or so) was an aberration. Everything before or since is the norm. I would be very wary of any rules changes made to provide more offense, IMO. I would hate to see games of 6 - 4 every night. I don't watch baseball anymore because it's become a HR derby, I would have a hard time watching hockey with such an emphasis on offense.
Sorry, unintentional rant. We return you to your regularly scheduled thread.
