Proposal: How to Fix the NHL

[Ogrezilla]

Step 1: Call obstruction by the book.
Step 2: Call every penalty regardless of the circumstances of the game.

Refs calling penalties differently in first or the third, calling them differently in the regular season or playoffs, calling them differently based on who did what to who, making sure each team has equal powerplay time, ect..... THAT stuff needs to stop. Take the power away from the refs to decide out comes of games. If a ref sees a penalty, then they have to call it. Plain and simple. Fire them if they fail to do this ONE simple task.

If it results in too many powerplays being awarded, then players will adjust their game to compensate. Players will adjust to avoid taking penalties knowing they can no longer get away with certain things in certain situations. Scoring will increase when illegal-obstruction decreases.

this is definitely the ideal fix.

Lets be honest, goalie equipment size (at least the increase) is not related to safety. It's about taking up space.

its also only one part of the problem though.

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

The accountability for refs would be nice. It's kind of absurd that guys like Chris Lee, who every player and fan knows is terrible, has a secure job.

 

[Ogrezilla]

The accountability for refs would be nice. It's kind of absurd that guys like Chris Lee, who every player and fan knows is terrible, has a secure job.

Like someone said earlier, I don't think its on the refs. I think the league wants them to call less.

 

[Winger for Hire]

Like someone said earlier, I don't think its on the refs. I think the league wants them to call less.

Just another thing the league will do to shoot itself in the foot

 

[NewAgeOutlaw]

Like someone said earlier, I don't think its on the refs. I think the league wants them to call less.

I'm not talking about how many penalties are called in this case, I'm talking about holding officials to a higher standard so the game is at least called more consistently. I agree that an increase in penalties will only come from league higher-ups. I just also think it would help to have guys like Chris Lee worry about getting suspended or fired when he has a horrible game. You can go to youtube to see some of Lee's worst work. He makes himself part of the game and makes calls to draw attention to himself because he is not held to any kind of standard.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I'm not talking about how many penalties are called in this case, I'm talking about holding officials to a higher standard so the game is at least called more consistently. I agree that an increase in penalties will only come from league higher-ups. I just also think it would help to have guys like Chris Lee worry about getting suspended or fired when he has a horrible game. You can go to youtube to see some of Lee's worst work. He makes himself part of the game and makes calls to draw attention to himself because he is not held to any kind of standard.

fair enough

 

[Al Smith]

It's not them. Read that link I posted earlier (which is from a wrongful termination suit). Campbell rode the director of officiating until the referees stopped calling those types of penalties. The referee who sued the NHL (Dean Warren) alleged that the league fired him for calling the rulebook as written, which the emails support.

Interesting. Colin Campbell was a "defensive" D-man of limited talent, who was modestly successful in fighting because he tended to get in tight and take the opponent down (much like a wrestler for a two-point takedown). Anyway, I don't see a "hockey dad" reflected in the emails so much as a reflection of the league being run by dudes with the mentality to keep things as even as possible - e.g., outrage at a penalty called late in the game - or to bring the level of competition down to the level of the lowest-talent players (sort of like he was).

Campbell isn't the only one. That crap's been going on for a long time, and the 80s/early 90s were an aberration, which the powers that be eliminated by allowing the Devils and then the rest of the league to stifle its brightest talents. I think it's a bit of an overstatement to blame Campbell - although as you say he's more directly responsible for the relapse from the post-lockout rule enforcement. The league has had that mentality in place before he had his job and it will continue for the foreseeable future.

 

[Gooch]

This gets brought up on a lot of on HF boards but I still don't know why it remains an issue. The goaltending gear is out of control, it stopped being about the safety and became about blocking additional space. All the gear has grown big but the goaltenders in the 80's basically look like the skaters now do. I do agree that the old gear would offer little protection that doesnt mean that older gear size coupled with modern technology cannot create pads that protect the body of the goaltender without taking up any larger space.

That's basically the problem, look at the huge chest protectors when the goaltender goes down in the butterfly and see where his shoulders come to on his helmet. That's basically all gear blocking almost a half a foot of additional space, space that a puck could occupy. Thigh risers that basically exist for the sole purpose of covering up a five hole as the hockey pants are there for the thigh protection. Huge arm and elbows and just wide leg pads in general. Also gloves and blockers have seemingly gotten larger as well.

In every other sport the protective gear has for the most part shrunk and offered more protection yet hockey has gone the other way. Look at Football players today compared to the early 80's. Look at baseball catchers. Even though pitch speeds have been increasing their protection doesnt really take up any additional space over the old timey gear.

 

[Zen Arcade]

I'm not talking about how many penalties are called in this case, I'm talking about holding officials to a higher standard so the game is at least called more consistently. I agree that an increase in penalties will only come from league higher-ups. I just also think it would help to have guys like Chris Lee worry about getting suspended or fired when he has a horrible game. You can go to youtube to see some of Lee's worst work. He makes himself part of the game and makes calls to draw attention to himself because he is not held to any kind of standard.

I'm hoping things will eventually blow up to a point where he "decides" to resign, like Stephane Auger did.

 

[Coastal Kev]

I agree with many here about calling the rulebook. But does anybody believe or trust the current lot of crooked NHL Refs to fix the game??

NHL refs are biased and arrogant and mostly Canadian. I just don't see how you fix it with the refs.

 

[Ogrezilla]

the only real bias with the refs is against certain players like Downie, Marchand and Cooke. As a whole, the refs do not favor specific teams. They do typically favor the losing team, however.

 

[Joejosh999]

This gets brought up on a lot of on HF boards but I still don't know why it remains an issue. The goaltending gear is out of control, it stopped being about the safety and became about blocking additional space. All the gear has grown big but the goaltenders in the 80's basically look like the skaters now do. I do agree that the old gear would offer little protection that doesnt mean that older gear size coupled with modern technology cannot create pads that protect the body of the goaltender without taking up any larger space.

That's basically the problem, look at the huge chest protectors when the goaltender goes down in the butterfly and see where his shoulders come to on his helmet. That's basically all gear blocking almost a half a foot of additional space, space that a puck could occupy. Thigh risers that basically exist for the sole purpose of covering up a five hole as the hockey pants are there for the thigh protection. Huge arm and elbows and just wide leg pads in general. Also gloves and blockers have seemingly gotten larger as well.

In every other sport the protective gear has for the most part shrunk and offered more protection yet hockey has gone the other way. Look at Football players today compared to the early 80's. Look at baseball catchers. Even though pitch speeds have been increasing their protection doesnt really take up any additional space over the old timey gear.

>>>>

Actually, No.
Goaltender pads shrunk another 10pct of coverage as of 2013-14.
This on top of pad width 1inch reduction a couple of years ago to go with blocker and trapper width reduction,mas well as removal of the trapper plates above the pads.

So, No.
Goalies may cheat but the rules are clear and official coverage is getting smaller.

 

[ibar726]

As a whole, the refs do not favor specific teams. They do typically favor the losing team, however.

Yeah I have to say the recent interview with Tim Peel was rather interesting in that regard. It may have been the first time an sports official has gone on the record and basically stated that the league encourages bad calls in order to enforce an agenda and keep a game competitive.

Here is a section from that article:

"Peel called diving on the Anaheim Ducks defenseman (Sami Vatanen) in one of the single worst calls of the NHL season. It sent Bruce Boudreau into hysterics, and rightfully so.

But Peel knows it was a bad call, to the point where he skated up to the Ducks bench and apologized the next time he officiated an Anaheim game. So why make it? Well, because the NHL wanted a crackdown on diving, and with that mandate, he felt compelled to make that call.

In talking to Peel, you start to see a pattern: The NHL asks its officials to manage the game a certain way, and they have to do it. The Alex Ovechkin penalty in the previous night’s game in Washington? (The Ehrhoff hit)

Peel admits it was a call he wouldn’t have made in a 1-1 game, and wouldn’t have made without knowing that the NHL wants this penalty for the sake of "game management," in order to ensure a 4-0 game between two rivals doesn’t get out of hand. Peel said he went over to Barry Trotz after the call, explained it, and the coach, having seen this episode before, said he understood."

h--p://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/my-night-at-the-bar-with-tim-peel--nhl-ref-and-object-of-scorn-171058557.html

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Speaking of officials, I would love to see the league purchase the FoxTrax puck patent from FOX. It's not like it does FOX any good since they no longer have anything at all to do with broadcasting hockey? Then put the tech to good use...no not the revival of glow pucks but an simple chip in the exact center of the puck combined with a sensor bar at the top of the net at 1.5 inches in. The center of the puck passes under the bar and you now know the puck was 100% in the net. No need for officials to try to guess if there was any white visible, or if the goalies glove flashed inside the net, or if the puck squirted in under a mass of humanity before it was pulled out.

And speaking of tech can we also maybe upgrade the ref's whistles? In addition to sound how about making them send a signal to the replay booth so you would have the exact timestamp of when an play stops so that video replay can be frozen at that exact moment without having to just guess approx when the whistle blew, or saying that a whistle blew when the puck had already gone over the line?

It's minor stuff, but the more of the element of human judgement you can remove from the equation the better IMHO...

 

[SEALBound]

I'm just going to echo a lot of what's already been said.

1. Call the obstructions. **** was great in 05-06 / 06-07 when they actually called it.
2. With that, the creation of a Referee Oversight Committee. They review the calls and non calls and begin working to make referees more accountable for poor officiating. Teams should be able to request the committee review calls they believe were unjust.
3. Shrink goalie equipment.
4. Keep the nets the same size. I am absolutely NOT for larger nets.
5. Make sliding on the ground to block shots illegal. If you want to block them, stand on two feet.
6. Make hand passes more acceptable.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

A friend of mine recently researched that in 2005-06, we had 37 point-per-game players in the league. Thirty-seven. This season, what nine years later, the last time I checked we had 9 players on a PPG pace. That's staggering.

It starts at the top, imo. The league has to WANT change. Parity is great for the league, but not when it's at the expense of entertainment value.

For me, the main difference between the '05-06 season and now is the way the games are called for sure, and the emphasis on offense rather than defense throughout the league. I think Crosby/Ovechkin drove the bus on that.

One can only hope a decade later, McEichel will lead to similar change next season. I doubt it, but one can dream.

 

[blueliner18]

Goalie equipment is just ridiculous. Look at a picture of Ken Dryden from the 70's and look at a picture of MAF now, nuff said. Physically Dryden was a big man (6'4" 208lb) much bigger than Fleury (6'2" 185lb), but with equipment on Fleury looks 6'4" 275lbs. You look at any goalie today and you can see ZERO net behind him. When Dryden played pads were for protection, now they are mostly used as tools. For example how many goalies would flop to a butterfly constantly if their blocker, glove, and chest protector didn't measure 5'0" from side to side. I mean Dryden looks like he has a pair of forward shoulder pads on with an added chest protector, and his leg pads are a little bulkier than a few J C Penny catalogs around his legs.

 

[Al Smith]

A friend of mine recently researched that in 2005-06, we had 37 point-per-game players in the league. Thirty-seven. This season, what nine years later, the last time I checked we had 9 players on a PPG pace. That's staggering.

It starts at the top, imo. The league has to WANT change. Parity is great for the league, but not when it's at the expense of entertainment value.

For me, the main difference between the '05-06 season and now is the way the games are called for sure, and the emphasis on offense rather than defense throughout the league. I think Crosby/Ovechkin drove the bus on that.

One can only hope a decade later, McEichel will lead to similar change next season. I doubt it, but one can dream.

I don't understand the bolded part of your post. Seems like the emphasis has been away from offense and back to DPE since the lockout.

It seems like when players like Crosby and Ovechkin - and go back to Mario/Jagr - start scoring a lot, other teams plan to slow them down by holding/interfering/clutching and grabbing - and the league let's it go, because they've go this weird mentality where it's good to bring everyone down to the lowest talent level. If McEichel come in and dominate, I have no doubt the leauge will allow other teams to bring their level of play back down to the level of the masses.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I think there has to be a middle ground between 2005 and now. There were just so damn many powerplays that year. The top team in 2005 had 925 minutes on the powerplay, vs the top team last year having 495. I want the faster even strength play of 2005 without the ridiculous number of powerplays. That was the problem the league ran into. In time, I think the players would have adjusted to it. Not just players, but teams. Rosters would look significantly different if those were still the rules. Guys like Craig Adams and even Robert Bortuzzo likely wouldn't be in the league. Guys like Arcabello, Chris Connor and other AHL skill guys might be though. The kind of players that rely on obstruction would have been phased out, the even strength play would have stayed faster, and the penalties would have dropped naturally. The league wasn't willing to wait for that to happen sadly.