If the defeat of the National Hockey League all-star team by the national side of the Soviet Union had been a one-goal loss or the result of some fluke, perhaps the gloom inflicted on the men involved in the operation of NHL teams would have been much more severe.
But the loss, a 6-0 drubbing in Sunday's third game here, was of such thoroughness, administered by a superb team that had everything - talented players, great ability in the game's basic skills, extraordinary discipline, flawless conditioning - that the NHL men who really care about their game seriously want to know what has gone wrong with it.
The NHL assembled a team of its best players and there really was some excellent athletes on the all-star club. But their deficit in the basic skills of the game - skating, making and taking a pass, especially - to the level the Soviets have in those areas was considerable.
Of course, some NHL men don't give a damn. They're only interested in profit and loss statements, important factors to be sure, because NHL teams are a business. If the fans are coming through the gate, the attitude of some owners and general managers is that it makes no difference if their team can't complete two consecutive passes of 10 feet.
The men who really care about the game though, went away from Manhattan not with their heads down, under assumed names, because their all-star team had been cleaned, but with their brains in gear to try to determine why Johnny can't play the game as well as Vladimir.
"I found it interesting that while the Soviets were showing us such a level of hockey skill, Buffalo Sabres added Dave Schultz in a trade," commented one NHL team official who, for obvious reasons, requested anonymity.
"The statements made by the Buffalo people showed such elation at getting Schultz, who's only skill is with his fists, because he'd give the team some backbone. Three years ago, the Sabres had as much pure hockey skill as any team in the league, which they showed by scoring 12 goals againts that good Russian team (Wings of the Soviet in a 1976 exhibition match). You wonder what in hell is going on in our league sometimes."
Maple Leafs were pleased when they added tough guys Dan Maloney and Dave Hutchison in the past year and no longer had to endure Errol Thompson and Inge Hammarström, two players with abundant pure skill but low penalty totals. Minnesota North Stars officials feel that the recent addition of Jack Carlson will help their drive for a playoff spot. Carlson and his brothers were the models for the three goons in the hockey movie Slapshot.
The Soviet Union hockey officials are ecstatic about a recent addition to their national team (forward) Sergei Makarov, 20. All Sergei can do is skate, pass, score and make plays. Reports are that he's a terrible fighter, but the U.S.S.R. people have overlooked that weakness in his game.
This is not intended as a finger-pointing session at some NHL teams that have added tough players. It merely is a suggestion that perhaps, just perhaps, the emphasis is in the wrong place. If some teams worked as hard at improving, say, the passing skill of their players, as they do in locating fighters, the league wouldn't its humiliation showing quite as prominently.
Harry Sinden of Boston Bruins and Cliff Fletcher of Atlanta Flames were members of the general managers' panel that was in charge of the all-star club. They're two of the brightest young executives in the game and they're concerned about where hockey is sitting these days in North America.
"What this series should do is bring recognition to Soviet hockey for what it's done - and that's to produce the world's best hockey players." Sinden said after Sunday's game.
"It should also drive home to us very emphatically that some changes are needed in our hockey, especially in the development of young players."
"There's a question I have to ask - and I don't have an answer for it. How come the Soviet players, who are absolutely superb skaters, all skate the same way with the same style? And how come our players all skate the same way and, as a group, not as well as the Soviets? I haven't got the answer but I'd certainly like to know."
"That great skating by the Soviets is a big reason why they appear to pass the puck so well. To pass that well you have to skate well. We lag behind them in both areas. The Soviets not only make a pass better than we do, but they take it much better, too, and skating skill is a big difference."
Fletcher's view is that the NHL must take a long, careful look at the entire system - from peewee to pro - which produces the talent to the league. Until the NHL expanded from six to 12 teams in 1967, the NHL's six clubs operated their own development system that had sponsored junior clubs plus the spreading of financial aid as far down as bantam (14 years) leagues.
The Canadian goverment at the time was quite strong in its view that the big league clubs' influence on amatuer hockey should be ended. The NHL withdrew its sponsorship and the universal amateur draft was established to divide the graduating crop of junior players.
Now Fletcher wonders if the NHL must take a look at regaining some influence in the pre-professional development of players.
"Since NHL sponsorship of junior teams ended, the skill level of the junior players the system has produced has decreased steadily, not a gigantic amount, but enough to be noticeable," Fletcher said.
"When an NHL team sponsored a junior club, it didn't have winning championships or making a profit on that junior team's operation as the No. 1 concern. The NHL clubs were willing to lose a sizeable amount on the sponsorship if the junior team produced some quality talent."
"Now the junior teams are all operated as an independent business and the men who own them are more interested in not losing money than they are in the skill level of the players they produce. The Canadian government might be forced to re-evaluate their view that the NHL excerted an evil influence on amateur hockey by a direct involvement, especially if they want the country to have a Team Canada which can compete with the Soviets."
