I discovered the joys of NHL hockey over 30 years ago. It quickly became a passion for me. Whenever I suffered a cut I bled NHL it was so much a part of my fabric.
Unfortunately in 1993 the NHL hired Gary Bettman as commissioner and under his stewardship the on-ice product became a horribly unwatchable spectacle. Bettman killed my passion years ago and I only watched the occasional game out of habit.
Now it is 2005 and Bob Goodenough is faithfully leading his lemmings into the abyss. And yes, he has succeeded in breaking my habit.
I am still passionate about hockey, it is part of my soul. The NHL and its continued support of obstruction and the trapping systems that flourish because of it will never entertain me.
Just like I was suffocatingly bored watching games where both teams waited for the other team to make a mistake, I now find myself equally bored watching the same system taking place in the boardrooms. Back in the day that the NHL was played on the ice I recall too many teams only attempting to score one or twice a period. Games that went into overtime would often go into 2, 3 or 4 periods since neither side ever really took a chance on winning.
Similarly, negotiations for the current CBA have gone into overtime yet we only see either side meeting 2 or 3 days a week. Just like the trap system, where if there is any resistance at the blueline the other side just dumps it in and sits back; we see each side sit back when cost certainty, no cost certainty gets mentioned. Lets get back to creativity where one side actually tries to gain the blueline. Let us hope either the NHL or NHLPA steps forward with a creative proposal that will entertain the owners and players. Then they can apply the same creativity on the ice and entertain the fans and grow their business. Everyone wins.