Did you get a chance to see the Sens/Sabres game on Thursday night? If not you missed a great example of an issue that continues to be a problem in the NHL, players hunting other players who are vulnerable. Chris Neil took advantage of a vulnerable Chris Drury and landing a concussion causing hit which has put the Sabres captain out indefinitely.
What ensued after was Lindy Ruff putting his bruisers on with the last change against the Sens top line. This resulted in a full out brawl or beating, seeing Andrew Peters attack Dany Heatley and then Ray Emery. A handful of players got tossed from the game, and over 100+ penalty minutes assessed.
But the real issue is how can this league not recognize that this issue has to be addressed. While hitting is part of the game, body contact does not constitute hunting down another player and taking advantage of that situation. The NFL suspends players who go after the head, QB's are protected again and again because the players are important to the game. But the NHL does nothing to address the issue and then scratches their head on why the game has incidents like the recent one, or better yet the infamous Bertuzzi attack on Steve Moore.
The reason being is that teams need to police themselves because the league does nothing to protect against these incidents. And the Bertuzzi incident stemmed from the same style hit as the Chris Neil one. The funny thing being that one day before as the GM meetings were finished, the league was considering extending the suspension boundaries for the instigator rule since the league needs to protect the players. And then...this happens...and Lindy Ruff is the only one fined, what a great example to set.
But as with most NHL issues, the solutions are simple. Any predator-style hit, should be considered an Intent to Injure action. A five-minute major is handed out and the player addresses a possible suspension. And Mr. Bettman is you are reading or listening to this Blog you will see fewer retaliatory fights, seldom five on five brawls and your poster boys will be safe.
So Puck Off NHL, change the rule book and protect those who make this league the success it is. Fix the problem at the source and your other violence issues go to bed. Be the league you can be, and let's stop seeing these devastating and sometimes career ending hits. The last thing you want to happen is see your Golden Boy #87 in a pool of blood, unable to return to hockey.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Winner Take All Points System!
Despite what this site says, there are many things I do love about the NHL and one of those fine elements is this time in the yearly schedule. February may bring the wonders of Groundhog Day, Valentine's and the shortest month of the year, but it also brings the yearly get together of the grizzled GM's down in sunny Florida or one of the other tropical locations in the league.
Each gathering brings potential trades to the surface, but more importantly, the thirty brothers in arms, bring up potential ideas to improve the game which then get introduced to the competition group from the NHL for final approval. Ideas get nixed, new concepts are laid out for discussion and we the fan, get the high level breakdown at the end of the day. It's like waiting to see what Santa Claus left under the tree in my opinion.
One hot topic that has been passed around since the lockout is the potential for a new point system. The main concept was a 3-2-1 point system which saw three points for a regulation win, two points for an OT/SO win and 1 point for an OT/SO loss. This concept was put to bed today as the GM"s thought that the current system is working fine, and that there are great races in the NHL's playoff hunt.
Well...maybe someone needs to show the GM's the latest standings!
While the comments may hold true in the East, the Western Conference looks to be all but decided barring a huge skid by any of the current top eight seeds. Having said that, the current system is broken in many ways and while Colin Campbell claims that the NHL needs to take a break from constant change, nothing but great things can come from changing the game to improve the product, and let's face it, the NHL is far from perfect.
While I think the 3-2-1 system is flawed, I think an even simpler system would provide better excitement, even more dramatic playoff races and a better product for fans every night they drop $50 for a seat in the house. My main concept sees only points being awarded to the winner and zero points for the loser. One of the biggest drawbacks to watching the current NHL is that teams play for the guaranteed point. If you have a points lead, one point just keeps you further ahead and it's more beneficial to slow the game down, clamp down and get out of dodge with a single point. And after watching the conclusion of the Ducks/Canucks game this past Tuesday, I would love to see how a 2-2 game with 10:00 left in the third would be played out if the loser got diddly squat for losing.
Gone would be the days of the neutral zone trap, teams way behind would push like you have never seen before and dare I say, more regular seasons games would feature a playoff like atmosphere. Go one step further and offer three points for a regulation win and only two for an OT/SO loss. Guaranteed, you would see balls to the wall hockey for sixty minutes and then a crazed overtime. And then come playoff race time, you trail the 8th seed by six points, that is only two regulation wins to catch them as opposed to three games now.
So sure...the NHL has undergone lots of change, but change is good. Welcome change. It oftens creates new opportunities, and if embraced and introduced for the right reasons, could even make something good...great!
So as we say here, Puck Off NHL and don't be afraid of changes to the point system. What you currently have while could be great, has shown that it breeds boring traps, uninspired regular season games and in the case of the Western Conference, a playoff race that in a week or so, could be all but over.
Each gathering brings potential trades to the surface, but more importantly, the thirty brothers in arms, bring up potential ideas to improve the game which then get introduced to the competition group from the NHL for final approval. Ideas get nixed, new concepts are laid out for discussion and we the fan, get the high level breakdown at the end of the day. It's like waiting to see what Santa Claus left under the tree in my opinion.
One hot topic that has been passed around since the lockout is the potential for a new point system. The main concept was a 3-2-1 point system which saw three points for a regulation win, two points for an OT/SO win and 1 point for an OT/SO loss. This concept was put to bed today as the GM"s thought that the current system is working fine, and that there are great races in the NHL's playoff hunt.
Well...maybe someone needs to show the GM's the latest standings!
While the comments may hold true in the East, the Western Conference looks to be all but decided barring a huge skid by any of the current top eight seeds. Having said that, the current system is broken in many ways and while Colin Campbell claims that the NHL needs to take a break from constant change, nothing but great things can come from changing the game to improve the product, and let's face it, the NHL is far from perfect.
While I think the 3-2-1 system is flawed, I think an even simpler system would provide better excitement, even more dramatic playoff races and a better product for fans every night they drop $50 for a seat in the house. My main concept sees only points being awarded to the winner and zero points for the loser. One of the biggest drawbacks to watching the current NHL is that teams play for the guaranteed point. If you have a points lead, one point just keeps you further ahead and it's more beneficial to slow the game down, clamp down and get out of dodge with a single point. And after watching the conclusion of the Ducks/Canucks game this past Tuesday, I would love to see how a 2-2 game with 10:00 left in the third would be played out if the loser got diddly squat for losing.
Gone would be the days of the neutral zone trap, teams way behind would push like you have never seen before and dare I say, more regular seasons games would feature a playoff like atmosphere. Go one step further and offer three points for a regulation win and only two for an OT/SO loss. Guaranteed, you would see balls to the wall hockey for sixty minutes and then a crazed overtime. And then come playoff race time, you trail the 8th seed by six points, that is only two regulation wins to catch them as opposed to three games now.
So sure...the NHL has undergone lots of change, but change is good. Welcome change. It oftens creates new opportunities, and if embraced and introduced for the right reasons, could even make something good...great!
So as we say here, Puck Off NHL and don't be afraid of changes to the point system. What you currently have while could be great, has shown that it breeds boring traps, uninspired regular season games and in the case of the Western Conference, a playoff race that in a week or so, could be all but over.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Drop The Damn Three Seed!
Is it just me, or are there actually other people out there that despise the silly, stupid and dumb conference seedings in the NHL. While I have no problem in allowing a division winner to grab a playoff spot, I do have issue with the 3rd seed in either conference having fewer points than the 4th seed but still being positoned higher in the standings!
Beer leagues across Canada and the US do a better job organizing teams, heck even ten-year old kids on their PC's could come up with a better way of getting this kind of lacklustre job done right. And Mr. Bettman wonders why he plays second fiddle to the likes of the PBA, NASCAR and other highly acclaimed sports in the states.
And while this may seem like small potatoes to some, it's just a symbol of the state of the NHL. It's the little things that matter when it comes to big business. The PGA would never grant a golf title to a golfer who has the same stroke total as his counterpart, but took two more putts. The PBA would never award a title to a bowler who lost a match but had three more strikers than his opponent. So how the hell can the NHL give a division winner a 3rd seed despite having fewer points than the 4th place team.
The solution is simple, one conference, eight teams qualify...seeded by POINT TOTALS!!!! So while each division winner gets in, you get seeded by your overall points. What a novel idea...I mean using points as a sorting convention. Now maybe I'm too hard on the NHL, maybe the guy who runs this part of the league has a headache, or his hard drive crashed or maybe it's those other loonie ideas such as the new bigger net that has caused Mr. Bettman and his league directors to forget about fixing the small things.
Congrats to the Northwest and Southeast Divisions...enjoy your three-holes and my condolences to Pittsburgh, Nashville and maybe even Detroit...your 100 points may only be good enough for 4th.
Beer leagues across Canada and the US do a better job organizing teams, heck even ten-year old kids on their PC's could come up with a better way of getting this kind of lacklustre job done right. And Mr. Bettman wonders why he plays second fiddle to the likes of the PBA, NASCAR and other highly acclaimed sports in the states.
And while this may seem like small potatoes to some, it's just a symbol of the state of the NHL. It's the little things that matter when it comes to big business. The PGA would never grant a golf title to a golfer who has the same stroke total as his counterpart, but took two more putts. The PBA would never award a title to a bowler who lost a match but had three more strikers than his opponent. So how the hell can the NHL give a division winner a 3rd seed despite having fewer points than the 4th place team.
The solution is simple, one conference, eight teams qualify...seeded by POINT TOTALS!!!! So while each division winner gets in, you get seeded by your overall points. What a novel idea...I mean using points as a sorting convention. Now maybe I'm too hard on the NHL, maybe the guy who runs this part of the league has a headache, or his hard drive crashed or maybe it's those other loonie ideas such as the new bigger net that has caused Mr. Bettman and his league directors to forget about fixing the small things.
Congrats to the Northwest and Southeast Divisions...enjoy your three-holes and my condolences to Pittsburgh, Nashville and maybe even Detroit...your 100 points may only be good enough for 4th.
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