No One's Left To Complain
Earlier this week, Eric McErlain highlighted several proposed NHL rules changes being tried this week at a “research camp” for undrafted free agents in Toronto. He noted first that per New York Islanders GM Mike Milbury, a game-ending shootout is almost guaranteed to be in place for next season, and wondered about its impact on the NHL’s diehard fans.
Eric noted correctly that the diehards have sustained the sport through a decade of stifling, boring hockey. He suspects they’ll be needed when and if the league ever revives itself, but fears that they’ll bail out on hockey if substantive changes are made — including the shootout.
My question is simple: what diehards?
Throughout the 2004-05 non-season, we’ve seen hockey blogger after hockey blogger throw up his hands in disgust with the league and the game, including Eric himself at one point, and vow not to return to a rink until their sport is entertaining again. While I don’t think hockey bloggers are generally representative of the fan base at large, I suspect they do represent the opinion of hardcore hockey fans. And if that’s true, then the diehards are already gone. The rules changes, therefore, should focus on getting someone — anyone — to watch the games.
I’d prefer the sport maintain some historical comparability in its records if possible. Options such as red-line removal, no-touch icing, for-real obstruction enforcement, smaller goalie equipment, and (yes) the shootout are easy ways to achieve this while opening up movement and scoring. Another possibility would be the removal of the rule keeping teams 5-on-5 after coincidental penalties; that rule wasn’t even in place until the 1980s when the Gretzky-Messier-Kurri Edmonton Oilers began to take advantage of it; their team speed was so much better that 4-on-4 hockey provided an advantage. Why not encourage that style again?
Infeasible, unfortunately, is the widening of the rink. Even 200’x90’ would provide extra space for players that are simply too big for a rink size set when players were six inches shorter and fifty pounds lighter than today.
But something has to be done, and while I’m a conservative in hockey as well as politics, the sport is in change-or-die mode right now. Best if we accept that and work to make whatever survives of the NHL successful.
9 June 2005 / 0 Comments / Tags: hockey