Via Tom Benjamin, I found this TSN article on the proposed NHL rule changes that have been submitted to the league's GMs by the newly formed competition committee. I'm happy to go through them one at a time.
# Smaller goalie equipment, including 11 inch pads.
Sounds good to me, as long as it can be accomplished without compromising safety (which seems to be the case). We don't need any more goalies retiring without the use of their glove hands anymore.
# The reinstitution of the tag-up offside rule.
Ok by me.
# Moving the goal lines back two feet towards the end board to create more room in front of the net instead of behind it.
Everything old is new again.
# The calling of more penalties more consistently, specifically for obstruction on players with and without the puck and not just in the netural zone.
I'll believe it when I see it. No, check that. I'll believe that once it can be measured and verified.
# The institution of a shootout to eliminate tie games in the NHL. Before going to the shootout, though, overtime would be modified to include one five-minute period of four-on-four overtime and, if still tied, a three-minute period of three-on-three. If, after eight minutes of overtime, the game is still tied, then it would go to a shootout.
In general, I'm in favor of the shootout. But this format strikes me as something of a gimmick, and most likely a case of asking for something ridiculous in order to get what you really want. As far as I'm concerned, adding on a second five-minute OT period if a game remains tied would be fine with me, followed by a shootout. Come to think of it, I'd even settle for two five-minute OT periods without a shootout.
# The winner of the game - in regulation time, overtime or the shootout - would receive two points for the victory. The loser, regardless of when the loss occurred, would receive no points.
If we're going to wins and losses, why not throw out points altogether?
# The blue lines would be made fatter, as per the American Hockey League experiment this season, to slightly increase the size of the offensive zones.
It might not help, but I can't see how it could hurt.
# The centre red line will be removed for the purposes of allowing two-line passes.
I'm sure my friend Joe Tasca will say that this is something that coaches will learn to scheme against, but I have to say I'm in favor. Then again, I'd like to see the rule tested out in a minor league first for an entire season before foisting it on the NHL.
# Goaltenders will only be permitted to handle the puck in a designated area directly behind the goal net, as per the AHL experiment this season.
I didn't like this the first time I heard about it, and I don't like it now.
# A modified form of no-touch icing, where the first player to cross the goal line - not to touch the puck - will dictate whether icing is called. In other words, if the defensive player gets to the goal line first, icing will be called. If the offensive player gets to the goal line first, no icing will be called. Also, when icing is called, the team that iced the puck will not be permitted to change lines.
Sounds fine to me.
# Any player in the defensive zone that shoots the puck directly out of play will receive a two-minute minor for delay of game. In the past, only the goalie was penalized for shooting the puck out of play.
Not a bad idea at all. In fact, it's the sort of idea that makes you wonder why it wasn't proposed a long time ago.
# Automatic fines to the coach and suspensions to the player for any fight with an instigator in the last five minutes of the game.
Sounds like a rule change designed primarily to placate American sports columnists who don't watch much hockey at all in the first place. Still, I don't have much of a problem with it at all.
Overall, it's probably important to reinforce a point that I've made before: That everyone involved with the NHL has served as a poor steward of the game. And now that the game is in big trouble, panic is setting in, and all sorts of wacky ideas that have the potential to alienate the core of the fanbase are going to get floated.
Which is why I laughed when I read this:
A number of GMs told TSN said they're "frustrated" and even "angry" at effectively being replaced as the body that recommends rule changes to the NHL board of governors."A lot of guys (GMs) aren't happy at all," one GM told TSN. "In fact, they're furious. This competition committee could have been integrated with the GMs, but it looks like it's a replacement type of thing. It's going to be very interesting to see how this dynamic is going to work."
Now, if these folks had actually been paying attention for all these years, the league might have tackled these problems "NFL-style", so to speak. Incremental change on a year-by-year basis will always be more acceptable than a radical reshaping of the game -- something the NFL has turned into an art form.
Then again, as I've said before, desperate times call for desperate measures -- even measures that during normal deliberations would seem categorically insane. That's the boat the NHL finds itself in now, and I'm wondering what we might see next Fall once the league stops bailing.
I was just going to write this exact same post. Now I am going to write it, and detail why you are wrong. Not sure if I disagree with you at all, but it makes for better blogging.
Interesting take on the rules. Just some thoughts:
Giving a defenseman a penalty for shooting the puck out of play is a horrid rule and it will NEVER be adopted by the NHL. The AHL tried it a few years ago and it resulted in players being penalized for accidentally shooting the puck into the stands, when they were actually just trying to clear the zone (I’d say this was the case 90% of the time). Oftentimes a team was shorthanded, and a defenseman accidentally shot the puck into the stands on a clearing attempt, which resulted in many ridiculous two-man disadvantages that eventually decided tight games. This is a rule that will never pass. At the same time, you could allow the official to have discretion over the call, but my bet is the league burdens the officials enough as it is, and as a result, this won’t fly.
As for the fines at the end of the game, does anyone else find it ironic that this rule indirectly states that it’s more permissible to start a brawl during the first 55 minutes of the game?
The goaltending restriction was a joke. Total gag. I saw one AHL goaltender penalized all season for handling the puck outside the designated zone. The goalie is still allowed to leave his net and stop wraparounds. What, exactly, is the restriction??
The only thing the tag-up offsides does is reduce creativity, not foster it. If you want more flow, then you dig the tag-up. Still, it’s a cop-out for a defenseman.
The shootout will be fun for most fans. But, if your team goes 2-10 in shootouts next season (costing you a playoff spot), I can guarantee you’ll be begging for the days of tie games.