Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler The New NHL

So no one has started a thread on the comeback of the greatest sport in the world....so i figured i would get one going.

What does everyone think of the new look NHL so far? What about the crackdown on obstruction? What about the increase in goals? Shootouts? Other new rules? The next-one lighting it up in Pittsburgh? The Habs kicking some serious "A" (my personal favorite)?

I, for one, like the new game format. I think it adds a bit more excitement and may gain a little more interest for those who don't follow the greatest game on earth.

I like the new rules a lot, it's much more fun to watch. The new rules essentially make the neutral zone trap a non-viable defensive strategy, the NZT is was made hockey boring to watch.

The only rule change I don't like is the penalty for shooting the puck out of the rink. I know the intention is to speed the game up, but I think this penalty slows the game down.

Speed is the new game, it's fun to watch. My team, The Sharks, are fast so it's a good thing for us, but our defense isn't so good, so they are struggling a little.

Hopefully it will bring more fan interest. Here in the Bay Area ,Hockey is almost invisible. There is a small group of hockey fans, and the Sharks home game attendance is pretty good, but outside of that group, the mainstream sports fan has almost no interest in Hockey.

The problem is, you have to see the game live to really appreciate it. A non-fan isn't gonna shell out $100+ to go see a game. My wife works for the Sharks, so I get free tix, I take people to games, they usually have never seen hockey before, and end up liking it. If it wasn't for me giving them free tix, they would never go, and never come to appreciate the game.

I like everything except that ESPN isn't carrying as many games as they used to, so the games are getting farmed out to networks that my cable company doesn't carry (HDNet, OLN, etc.). I've only seen two of my Red Wings' games, and only one of them in HD. Mumble, grumble. However, at least the Wings won both games.

By the way. For any who have not yet discovered it, here is a good site for finding out what sports are being broadcast in HD on what channels.

HD Sports Guide

I have to admit myself that i'm enjoying the heck out of it, good to hear other people are too. The tempo is way up, no more clutching and grabbing. It's amazing how some of these small highly skilled players who dissapeared the past few years and are back with a vengeance - Paul Kariya, the Sedins, etc

I am happy with all of the rule changes save for 2 - the limits on goalie puck handling and the no line change after an icing (it does keep the teams from icing the puck, but that is more of a strategy thing if you are willing to give up the faceoff in the defensive end, that's your issue to deal with).

I must say i'm more impressed with the shootout than i originally thought i would be. Heck doesn't hurt to have an actual winner in the hockey game does it? It is amazing though how many games are ending in OT now, teams are almost afraid to go to a shootout so are going all out in OT.

Bruce, i hope you are right, so far the US fans are staying away, but Canadian fans are out in droves.

Simboticus, Sharks should be just fine this year if Nabokov gets rolling. I suspect they are missing Rathje a lot though. Sharks were my pick to finish 2nd in the west behind Vancouver.

Jack, you must be really happy about the Wings performance this year! Their young kids are lighting it up big time and a 9-1 start must be getting people excited. And to boot they seem to have finally gotten the average player age below "senior discount" eligibility.

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And to boot they seem to have finally gotten the average player age below "senior discount" eligibility.

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LOL! Funny line, Scott. And, true as well. Yep I'm pleased with their start, but it's early. Just wish I could see more of their games.

I like the calling on clutching and grabbing, great to see speed back in the NHL. However, I think they might be slightly over zealous, as I've seen a lot of things called that had almost no impact on the play. Two many pointless powerplays will hurt the game as well. Also, diving seems to be way up, and often its isn't being called. The refs see a player down, they call a penalty. Its very early however, so I'm sure they'll make adjustments.
I think the limited goalie puck playing rule is rediculous. It punishes talented stick handling goalies, while making no real gains for the game.
I like the pentalty for directly shooting a puck out of the rink. It was a cheap way to get a whistle before, and slowed things down.
Great to see tag up offsides back.
I like the red line removal. Makes the trap less effective, or rather a lot more difficult to play. It was killing the game. I like seeing risky two line passes, either leading to a big break, or resulting in a brief 5 on 4. Either way, its good.
I hate the shoot-out. Hockey is a team sport, and one TEAM has to beat abother TEAM. Shootouts put a very few skilled players against a goalie to settle a game which could mean a lot. Does baseball settle a tie with a home run derby? Does bastketball settle a tie with a slam dunk competition? No. I personally think its just a cheap trick to get casual viewers to see more excitement. As a die hard fan I think its dumb.

sidvicious02 you know your hockey. Most Sharks fans hated Rathje, they are ignorant. Because he is a big guy, they expected him to be more physical. What they didn't realize is that he did a great job neutralizing real estate. The coaches always put him on the opponets best players.

He got booed almost every game, many people jumped on the "Rathje sucks" badwagon, we miss him now. It's too bad, he is a very good defenseman. Hopefully he'll get the recognition he deserves in Philly, where the fans are more knowledegable.

I haven't seen a lot of pucks intentionally shot out to get a whistle, usually it seems accidental. If most are intentional, then I'd agree it's a good rule, my jury is still out.

Regarding the shootout, yes it is absolutly a cheap trick to bring in casual fans. Is that a problem? I see your point about it being a team sport, but the NHL as a busness is on very shaky ground (ice I guess). If they don't do something to increase the fan base, there will be no hockey for anyone, or at least major reduction in the number of teams. Same thing with the goalie puck handling restrictions. It was intentionally done to keep the puck in the offensive zone longer to increase scoring. Purists hate it, businessmen like it. More goals scored equals more fans. Since my wife is employed in the NHL I want them to be financially successful. Plus I like high scoring games too.

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Two many pointless powerplays will hurt the game as well.

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I agree with you Craig, in the long run if this many penalties continue to be called the game will suffer. I really liked Kariya's comments a few games into the season when a reporter asked him what he thought of all the penalty calls. He said something to the effect of, 'it took us 8 years to mess the game up this badly, at least give us a couple of months to get it sorted back out'. Makes sense to me.

I understand what you mean about the shootout, but IMO it is nice to see some finality - I think there was over 300 tie games the last season, heck Tampa had 20% of their games end in ties. I'm not going to compare it to baseball or basketball because i think there is no real comparison (very few OT games in basketball and lots of points, baseball a lot more runs scored than goals in hockey so much easier to settle in OT). It would seem though this year that with scoring being up they probably didn't need the shootout, but the fear of it certainly does get the players going in OT. I guess what i'm trying to say is, it doesn't hurt my feelings any and it's nice to see an actual winner-loser at the end of the game instead of another tie. (I would personally part with the shootout if they let the two goons fight it out to determine the winner - that would be pretty cool! )

Two things.

1. Someone said they aren't seeing as many games on ESPN and they are being farmed out to OLN. That is not the case. ESPN no longer has the contract for hockey this year, OLN does. They took over as the broadcaster in place of ESPN. ESPN is out of the hockey business.

2. As far as OT and shootouts go. I like shootouts for two reasons. First, it is better then ending in a tie, no sporting event should do that. And second, it is not realistic to play OT until someone scores. Games take long enough sometimes during the playoffs with that format. You can't do a whole regular season of that. Only other option I can see is 5 minutes of 5 on 5, 5 min of 4 on 4, and on down until one on one if you have to, until someone scores. I'll take shootout over that though.

My one problem with overtime now...there should be no more 1 point for a tie at the end of regulation. The point of that had been to keep teams from playing safe in OT. Since they already had their 1pt, they could go for it. There is no reason for that bonus anymore. It should be all or nothing. No other sport gives partial credit for getting to OT, even if you lose.

The game is still broken as long as the instigator rule stays in place! That needs to go yesterday!

As for the "new" NHL, it's better then it was.

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The game is still broken as long as the instigator rule stays in place! That needs to go yesterday!

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Bull's Eye John! They made it worse this year too, instigating in the last, i think 5 minutes, gets you a suspension. My thought is if you don't like fights, hockey probably isn't your sport. My suggestion - ballroom dancing.