EndBoards said:
Shootout: It's coming. I like it. How is a tie a better for the fans than a shootout? If you're such a 'hardcore' fan then why are you talking about leaving the sport over a trivial matter? Relax.. It'll be ok..
Obstruction: The reason obstruction isn't called is because refs don't want to be seen as deciding the game with their whistle. They don't want to call a potentially game-deciding power play late in the game for something that happens away from the puck.
The solution is to have a less severe penalty for obstruction. Take the offender off the ice for two minutes, but remove the change in manpower. This allows refs to make the call without awarding a power play that decides the game. Repeat offenders are taken off the ice, get less ice time, and become less valuable to fans & coaches. This drives their salaries down.
I respectfully disagree . . . . . if a player is obstructing he needs to go to the box and his team needs to be penalized while the other team receives the power play.
Sure, there will be a parade to the box for the first few games, but if the players (and fans and GMS and coaches) realize the refs are going to
consistently call the obstruction penalty regardless of game, score, offender, time, or circumstance they’ll stop - - - if they don’t, they’ll be riding the pine or sent packing.
The reason previous crackdowns never stuck is because the referees were told to back off the calls because of complaints . . . . . stop complaining about the parade while the players make adjustment and once they do, there’ll be less obstruction (you’ll never totally eliminate it) and penalties will return to normal levels.