What is wrong with the N.H.L?

[niteowl]

Call me old fashion but there is nothing wrong with the game however I do think there is something wrong with the Commissioner.

I would get rid of the Eastern/Western Conference and bring back Prince of Wales/Clarence Campbell Conferences. Seeing as how the trophies never changed but the names did. Get rid of the Northwest/Atlantic/Pacific division crap and bring back the Norris,Smythe,Adams,Patrick banners and add something like Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard divisions.

 

[mustangjoe]

Too many teams for starters. Secondly, too many teams playing the boring 'ol trap. It makes economic sense tho, the trap gets you into the playoffs without having to shell out big dough for big name players. Furthur into the payoffs teams go, = more money for the owners. The owners don;t give two shits about entertaining the smucks who pay $100+ a seat, they just want to make money. Can you really blame them tho? The solution is to axe 5 teams. Also, give visiting teams 50% of the gate revenue. This will encourage them to play a more entertainig game. Thirdly, get rid of that Garry Buttfuck.

Who gives two shits what the hell the divisions are called. What difference does it make?

 

[necko]

The trap

Ever since its invention the game has slowed down to a standstill

 

[massageseeker]

I dont know about the TOO many teams scenerio .. that is the easy way out ..

The league is just better and players have caught up, the era of Wayne Gretzky ... where he was a 11 and Harold Snepts was a 3 have just changed. There is no big gap ... everyone is a 9 or 10.

Take a look at sorroundings leagues that are putting younguns n NHL .. anyone see prospect game.. only a few will play in the NHL and that was best hockey every .. World Junior Champion teams .. only a few make it to the NHL ..World Junior Canada team the best in our nation .. under a half dozen every crack the 3rd line and up ..

So I dont buy the too many teams.. sure maybe a few are geographically ill located.. but the league is just as a hole better..

 

[massageseeker]

I agree about Gary ...

Trap will never dissipear ..b/c you can call it what you wish, but its just defensive good hockey ..in the past players floated.. now guys are bigger faster.. just too hard to have the same amount of breakaway, good chances, 3 to 1 etc etc

 

[necko]

In the N.B.A. they have rules against illegal defences why not NHL. Make it more man to man, Less clutching and grabbing, more action by the goal tender, I love it when a goalie gets a shot on goal

 

[BYSON]

problem they didn't play last year they didn't give a shit about you and I The Fans, as far as I say Fuk off NHL it will be sometime before I forgive and forget.

 

[wilde]

What is wrong with the No Hockey League?

Gary Butthead is part of the problem but what about Bob Goodnight? Word is that the new collective bargaining agreement, if and when finalized, will be something similar to what was proposed (a cap with linkage) before they killed this season with less money.

 

[Kev]

For starters let quit trying to sell hockey to Americans that could careless about the game. Those Americans that get it, get it, those that don't, don't. And thats okay.

I have no use for basketball. No matter what the NBA does i won't be watching it. And thats okay too.

When we come to the realization that some American markets aren't viable because of lack of interest there going to fold. Hopefully we can weed out week players and only the deserving ones will remain in the NHL. With stronger teams we may even eliminate the trap because each team should be able to be competitive. Ok its a hypothesis but who knows?

 

[FuZzYknUckLeS]

The problem is simple.
Greed.
Money fucked it.

 

[massageseeker]

Yeah but the thing with Gary Bettman is he is doing what his delegates want him to do ... he may walk out of this as a hero ...

 

[dirtydan]

Teams have got far too defensive. When is the last time a team scored 400 goals in a season? I think one has to go back to the early 90's. The trap is killing the game and needs to be eliminated. For the last several years we have heard boasts from the NHL that the officials are going to get tough on the trap but after the first few weeks of the regular season it's back to the status quo. And why is there the trap? Too many teams and not enough high calibre talent to go around. Contract the NHL to either 20 or 24 teams, getting ridding of most of the teams in the southern US.

 

[wilde]

They need to relocate Nashville or Pittsburg to Winnipeg

I would kill to see Mario in a Jets uniform.

 

[wolverine]

If I wanted to reboot the NHL, I would:
- move or fold the teams in American cities where hockey is just a trailer-trash novelty or failing miserably: Panthers, Coyotes, Thrashers, Predators, Hurricanes, Mighty Fucks, Penguins. Then have a dispersal draft so that the top talent isn't spread so thin.
- after the Coyotes are buried, install Gretzky as commissioner
- set most of the rules back to the way they were during the 1980s...but keep the current playoff conference seeding and eliminate the red line. This should bring back the high-offense end-to-end action that made the NHL of yore such a joy to watch.
- put in the salary cap, but allow for performance bonuses for goals, points, wins, plus/minus, etc. 10-goal journeymen shouldn't be making millions. A revenue-sharing system per team would be good for both the players and teams.

 

[curmudgeon]

I think the problem with all the major league sports is that there's too much money involved and not enough good will between the players and owners.

We get absolutely great hockey during the olympics and the world cup, and no really complains about defense or refereeing, or goalie equipment during all that. They just focus on the game, on winning, and doing what needs to be done to win it all.

Too many $$ and too many egos ruin a good game.

 

[The Lizard King]

Let's see, you have an American running the league and an American running the PA who both hate each other. You have the one running the league looking at changing the rules and traditions, and adding teams, just to please an American public who couldn't care less and never will. I hope this alienates the core fan base and relegates the league down to the same status as the CFL. Not that I don't like the CFL but it would look good on them and I'm sure the players would enjoy working second jobs in the off season! I know it's far fetched but it would be nice. I also have no problem with Americans not caring about hockey, that's their business, but I do have a problem with the changes being made and the reasons behind them.

 

[rafterman]

Greed......

 

[georgebushmoron]

I think we should forget about Canada that's whats holding it up. It was invented in the US anyway. That's what the historians say.

 

[CARGO1]

The trap! Any defensive based game gets boreing. It leads to low scores and dissatisfied fans.

Open up the ice, international size rinks would lead to a faster paced more offensive style of hockey. Drop the iceing calls, they slow the game down.

Increasing the net size or decreasing the goalie equipment size wont help the game if the offensive team can not get over the defense's blue line. The NHL needs to make hockey interesting again. Speed and goals equals interesting.

All you have to do is remember the eighties,and the Oilers. They were fast and scored goals.

The NHL has to take into account that the size of the Player has increased, the equipent has increased in size, the players are bigger and faster then they have ever been. Give them some room to play and you will have a fun game to watch again

Just my 0.02

Cargo