How would you “fix” the NHL

[Conbon]

Fold the league and start a new one with none of the old guard.

 

[Hanji]

Hockey has been a pretty privileged sport for awhile. You need money to play at all levels. Go to a game it’s 90%+ white too.

Best way to grow the game is starting at the youth level and allowing/having programs for young people in more urban areas and other less rich countries.

Similar to golf it’s a predominantly white fan sport. Just the way it is as it has been that way for awhile.

nba has huge European, Asian, and American support. Nhl is basically upper class European areas, United States, ans canada.

By doing this more diverse groups will get involved in hockey, thus growing the game, thus making nhl bigger/better.

There's still a lot of minorities in this country with wealth, and at least disposable income.

The bigger issue is cultural. In general, minorities have no cultural connection to this game. Unlike basketball, football, etc. I'm of the opinion that they don't see themselves reflected in the game.
This sport is going to need a big name minority star for things to change.

Case in point - Williams sisters. They opened so many eyes for Women's tennis. Sure Women's tennis is still quite white, but compared to Men's it's very diverse nowadays. And Tennis is very expensive once you get to higher levels.

 

[VanIslander]

Require all new arenas to be able to convert to Olympic sized rinks so that 30 years from now players will have more room to skate and pass. NHL rinks are too small for the speed and physicality of the game today: too many individual rushes these days and defensive shutdowns.

 

[Slimmy]

I would make it against the rules to have anyone named Pegula to own and operate a hockey team.

 

[GordonGraham]

-Get rid of Bettman & Daly & Campbell
-Get rid of salary cap
-Move at least a couple of teams to new market
-Bring back fighting
-Bring back big hits (stop suspending players for a great hit)
-Even if a team scores on the PP the penalty should be completed
-No icing the puck allowed when on the PK, why get a rule advantage due to a penalty
-Make icing a "fault" (add icings on the scoreboard after 5 you get a penalty)
-No more tablets on bench
-No shootout
-No more hiding injuries, waiting till warm up to annonce starting goalie-lineup, , No more upper by lower body bullshit NFL is a lot more physical and dont hide injuries
-Go back to 1-16 playoffs
-Golies should not be allowed to leave blue paint to play/stop the puck

 

[ChuckLefley]

How many times has this been stated? It’s not a loser point. Each team gets a point for being tied at the end of regulation.

Why does a team deserve a point for going to OT and losing? They don’t. You get points for win…period. It’s idiotic and is simply a way to create false parity.

 

[dnov11]

Reading this thread almost makes me weep for the future of hockey. Sounds like people want the NBA on ice rather than anything that the NHL has traditionally resembled.

 

[dahrougem2]

the problem with women's hockey is women don't care or watch it. not enough eyes on it.. and the competition isn't really there

The problem with women's hockey is that it's awful. When the Canadian Women's National team does their tour and routinely loses to U18 teams with players aged 15-18 that aren't even allowed to hit them - yeah, there's a problem. And that's the "best of the best" as far as women go.

 

[zizbuka]

Penalize ALL stick work. If a stick touches any opposing player, other than incidental contact, call it a penalty. Cross checking, hooking, slashing...... be consistent, not just when it fits the flow of the game.

 

[NYSPORTS]

Both widen and make the net higher.

We love hockey but too many don’t love it. Have to draw in more fans and those fans want scoring.

 

[cowboy82nd]

Why does a team deserve a point for going to OT and losing? They don’t. You get points for win…period. It’s idiotic and is simply a way to create false parity.

The teams get a point for being tied at the end of regulation. Anything after that is extra.

 

[Maple Leaf]

There's still a lot of minorities in this country with wealth, and at least disposable income.

The bigger issue is cultural. In general, minorities have no cultural connection to this game. Unlike basketball, football, etc. I'm of the opinion that they don't see themselves reflected in the game.
This sport is going to need a big name minority star for things to change.

Case in point - Williams sisters. They opened so many eyes for Women's tennis. Sure Women's tennis is still quite white, but compared to Men's it's very diverse nowadays. And Tennis is very expensive once you get to higher levels.

Why is tennis expensive. Racket and ball. Couple bucks

 

[Hanji]

Why is tennis expensive. Racket and ball. Couple bucks

Tennis is cheap at the basic level. But, if you're any good, coaching and related expenses will cost you a mint. A higher end tennis academy + supplemental individual coaching will likely run you about $75-100K a year.

 

[Ginormousthumbs]

The team with the worst record gets relegated.

 

[sabremike]

The problem with women's hockey is that it's awful. When the Canadian Women's National team does their tour and routinely loses to U18 teams with players aged 15-18 that aren't even allowed to hit them - yeah, there's a problem. And that's the "best of the best" as far as women go.

I can tell you for a fact the players themselves despise the no hitting rules.

 

[dahrougem2]

I can tell you for a fact the players themselves despise the no hitting rules.

Even if the women despise those rules, which I don't doubt, it's still incredibly telling that the top women are losing to middle-aged teens. The women's game is very low quality.

 

[DuckyGirard]

Even if the women despise those rules, which I don't doubt, it's still incredibly telling that the top women are losing to middle-aged teens. The women's game is very low quality.

The popularity of women's sports is absurd.

Pretend you're oblivious to gender. Would you ever watch a sport where people are substantially shorter, more frail, weaker, and slower?

This is an absurd case of pick your battles.

There's almost no one who believes a woman would survive in the nhl. It's not even a thing.

At the same time do you want to see men with minimal athletic ability in a professional league?

The same logic applies. If you aren't athletic don't make winning in a hyper competitive sport part of your identity.

It's people acting irrationally to the ultimate degree.

And no if I had a daughter it wouldn't change my attitude. Because I'd never tell my son he could be an nhl either. Being a pro athlete is a niche thing for a very small proportion of the population.

To even have the conversation is a good indication that we are getting manipulated.

 

[one2gamble]

make the ice bigger, but not international bigger. Start calling interference. Let players have personality/celebrate goals and it will fix itself.

 

[DuckyGirard]

make the ice bigger, but not international bigger. Start calling interference. Let players have personality/celebrate goals and it will fix itself.

I think a bigger rink would solve 90 percent of the problems in the game.

It'd open the game up to more skilled players increasing debt, it'd make the game faster, more complex, etc.

I think people forget how much talent the nhl has. You can't compare european leagues to ours.

 

[JETZZZ]

1. No more game management. If the ref sees a penalty, the ref calls it. The score, the period, who got the last penalty, and what time of year it is should not play a factor in calling penalties.

2. No pre-season hockey games. Its a waste of time and it will not be missed.

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

Get crosschecking under control.
Call all penalties at all times.
Put people on the DOPS that actually care about player safety and understand what it means.
Allow fans to throw non-explosive objects at Tom Wilson

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

This is why fans cannot be in the decision making process for this league. People take bits and pieces of things, or single things they don't like, and make sweeping, permanently impactful changes across the whole league.

 

[Butch 19]

The team with the worst record gets relegated.

drink!

 

[ChuckLefley]

The teams get a point for being tied at the end of regulation. Anything after that is extra.

So it’s a point for a tie. The NHL doesn’t want ties but rewards teams for tying. Why should you get a point for being tied and then losing the game? Fake parity.

 

[horrific foot speed]

Reduce the number of teams to 26-28

3-2-1 points system (like european soccer, but tweaked)

1-8 playoff format