Still waiting on the Board of Governors to rubber stamp the CBA. In the meantime, here's the revised list of proposed rule changes that are going to be voted on today as well:
Campbell would not disclose what was on the final list but here are some of the changes that are expected:- Allowing the two-line pass (no red line) like international hockey;
- Reduction in goalie equipment;
- Using the AHL crease and limits on goaltender puck handling;
- No tie games; using a penalty shootout after overtime;
- No-touch icing;
- Bringing back tag-up offside;
- Move nets back two feet towards end boards.
I had a very long conversation after Midnight with Joe Tasca this morning on the proposed changes, and he's not terribly optimistic. I trust Joe on this as he's not just a fan of the NHL but the AHL as well.
And after spending an entire season watching AHL games all across the Northeast, he said that the changes were so disruptive that they couldn't be considered worthwhile. However, it appears clear now that the one rule he hated more than any other -- calling a penalty for delay of game whenever a skater shot the puck out of play while in the defensive zone -- won't be adopted.
One thing Joe is certain of -- that the league is actually serious about cracking down on obstruction, and that they're committed to it. "If it takes calling 10 or 15 power plays a game, that's what they'll do," Joe told me.
As for ditching the red line, Joe is convionced that coaches will be able to scheme against it; on shootouts, he wonders why the league wants to keep a points system if there are no more tie games, and anticipates that it's the camel's nose under the tent when it comes to introducing OT into the playoffs. I'm going to hold off to see exactly what sort of format the league is going to use before I pass any judgement.
As for the other changes (tag-up offsides, no-touch icing and goalie equipment), Joe seemed to have little problem with any of them.
One thing to remember -- if you believe that the league is committing heresy with any of these changes, feel free to raise some Cain over it. I know I will.
More later.
UPDATE: I'm liveblogging the press conference. Stick with me. NHL talking head interviewing Sid Crosby -- "a lot of anticipation . . . sit here and watch with everyone else."
Want to play for Montreal: "Be nice, but anywhere is nice . . . It's an exciting day."
ANOTHER UPDATE: Bill Daly on the podium. "Ernst and Young has overseen the lottery . . . has validated the results."
E&Y exec to hand closed envelopes to Gary Bettman. Bettman is on message about partnerships: "Make game as good as can be for our fans.
The order . . .
30. Tampa Bay
29. Florida
28. Dallas
27. Colorado
26. Calgary
25. Edmonton
24. St. Louis
23. New Jersey
22. Boston
21. Toronto (sorry locals)
TENSION MOUNTS: Wow. Toronto GM John Ferguson is being interviewed, disappointed, wanted to pick higher . . . Can still get a quality player at #21. 3 Canadian Clubs are out as we go to commercial.
This is actually turning out to be pretty exciting, and I love the fact that the Isles, Rangers and Caps are all still alive.
New logo courtesy of Jes Golbez.
PICKS 20 TO 11:
20. Philadelphia
19. Detroit
18. Nashville
17. Phoenix
16. New York Rangers (OUCH! THAT HURTS)
15. New York Islanders
14. Washington
13. Buffalo
12. San Jose
11. Los Angeles
Going to commercial. Stream in the U.S. is pretty good, but is breaking up intermittently -- most recently in the middle of Buffalo's pick.
HERE COMES #10: John Fontana is liveblogging at BoltsMag.
Coming back from commercial into interview with Bobby Clarke: "Not disappointed, but 20 is ok with me . . . Don't think SC has been overhyped." Stream breaking up. ARRRGH!
10. Vancouver
9. Ottawa
8. Atlanta
7. Chicago
6. Columbus
5. Montreal (Woe Canada!)
4. Minnesota
3. Carolina
Down to final two -- Pittsburgh and Anaheim still at the table.
HERE IT COMES: Stream breaking up a lot now. I'm rooting for the OC (would love to see Burke get him), but SC to Pittsburgh will save the franchise. To commercial break. Stay with us . . .
FINAL TWO: Pens and Papers is strangely silent. Would have been a great day to make a debut.
So, will it be Fedorov and Crosby or Lemieux with Crosby?
Burke on state with Ken Sawyer, Penguins President.
2. Anaheim
1. Pittsburgh
Wow. Blackhawks owner Bill Wirtz shouting "justice, justice" at news that Pittsburgh has gotten Crosby. TNS talking heads are blathering now. I wonder if they're going to let those folks that have been sequestered out of that room now.
TSN interviewing SC: "Be great" to be with Pittsburgh. "More than happy to play there, really excited right now."
Good things or bad things about Pittsburgh: "Young team, great finish to the season . . . Can't go without mentioning Mario Lemieux."
On Mario: "Trained together, skated together, learned a lot, hope I get a chance to learn a lot more."
"Played on same line" with Mario last Summer.
"Tough to watch not knowing. Lot of suspense like everyone else . . . The NHL is up again, time to move on."
On not going to Montreal: "Didn't want to jinx it . . . Happy with the way it turned out. It's been fun."
On what he thought of the lottery: "Tough on the nerves like it was everyone else . . . My household full of energy and excitement . . . Think it went well."
These questions are getting really silly, and I'm glad they're wrapping it up with Crosby.
On when Pittsburgh was announced: "Lot of cheering, phones started ringing."
OOPS!: Stream live in between segements. TSN host berating somebody for not getting Lemieux's phone number to do an interview. And they cut the feed as Pierre Maguire is calling somebody named Mark -- I'm thinking Recchi.
RULE CHANGES All the details here from NHL.com. And say goodbye to the tie:
# Following a scoreless five-minute overtime, three players from each team participate in the order the coach selects.# Each team takes three shots. The team with the most goals after those six shots is the winner.
# If the score remains tied, the shootout will proceed to a "sudden death" format.
# Regardless the number of goals scored during the shootout portion of overtime, the final score recorded for the game will give the winning team one more goal than the score at the end of regulation time.
More relevant numbers here.
Here's the Bettman e-mail that went out earlier this afternoon:
Dear Friend of Hockey,This is a letter I had hoped to be able to send you several months ago. I am certain it is one you had hoped to be able to read long before today, and I will never be able to express adequately my appreciation
Buffalo out at #13…*&^%…good to see the fix NOT in and the Rangers out at #16.
Sigh. I know with the realignment I don’t have to hate Pittsburgh anymore, but as a long-time Caps fan, it’s hard not to.
I was pulling for the Wild. But 4th isn’t so bad… And as far as the local team, too bad about the Caps… but they’ve got Ovechkin to look foward to.
The mention of buyouts doesn’t specifically exclude what we talked about last night, Eric, so it’ll be interesting to see how that plays out.
For those who hadn’t seen it, the Rodent put forth the idea of a loophole in the buyout procedure where:
* Team A wants to cut Player 1′s salary.
* Team A trades Player 1, Player 2, plus cash to Team B
* Team B buys out Player 1 using the cash, keeps Player 2
* Player 1 is then free to re-sign with Team A
If allowable, I’d expect it to start happening just as soon as standard buyouts. You know there are going to be some GMs looking to game the new system already, more likely the bigger-market clubs.
You did a hell of a lot better Liveblogging than I did Eric – then again I was just trying to keep an eye ont eh draft order…. And anticipating #1…
Thanks for the trackback. Wanted to get itno more detail in my live blogging of the press conference but had abotu 4 or 5 thigns goign on at once.
Can’t wait for the season! Great roudnup here of alot of different things.
Here’s the question on the points system — with two points for any win and one point just for reaching OT, won’t we see both teams skate around aimlessly for the last five minutes of a tie game, not willing to risk the one point before going for a second?
I think the five-minute mark of a tie game should be sponsored by Molson, because that’s what the fans should be getting around that time.
I’m no fan of confusing points systems, but a soccer-style 3-1-0, with a bonus point awarded for an OT or shootout win (3-2-1-0?) might work here. It didn’t work in soccer’s A-League years ago (one team reached the final after going months without a regulation win), but in higher-scoring hockey, it’s worth a try.