Is it time for the NHL to transition to larger size European rinks?

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

No they shouldn't go to full on European rinks but I think making it a few feet wider would make a big difference.

Because it will cost the owners money though to redo the rinks it will likely never happen.

 

[Jacob]

I’m in favor of bigger ice surfaces in all directions not just width. But not more than a few feet in each direction.

Players (and humans in general) are bigger than when the current surface dimensions were decided on. There’s just a lot less room out there especially in the neutral zone. Easier to sit back and clog things up.

 

[Eisen]

Plenty of situations where I enjoy watching 4 on 4 hockey more... due to room for more skill plays on the ice

The rink size for the NHL has not changed for a long time. While players have become faster + system designed to clog the neutral zone and in front of the net

Is it time to increase the rink size to European rink size standard?? A few lost seats shouldn't be a big deal. Can make it up by charging a little more for the other seats. Should help with overall fan experience with the bigger ice.

I like it better but I don't think it will happen.

 

[rocketdan9]

Because it will cost the owners money though to redo the rinks it will likely never happen.

right a few hundreds of thousand to change the rink would put these millionaire owners into financial strain

pardon my sarcasm, but this not a bonafide reason not to do it

 

[Zenos]

It relates to the playoffs in a way

you know why they went with 3 vs 3 for OT in the regular season??

less congestion and more scoring opportunity

When you’re looking at OT though, it’s far too easy to say that it‘s merely an abundance of room (or lack of congestion as you say) which is generating all those extra scoring opportunities.

Almost all the extra offense is generated through breakaways and odd man rushes. It’s no surprise that with one or two fewer skaters, the risk of a turnover will be magnified significantly.

 

[Eisen]

I’m in favor of bigger ice surfaces in all directions not just width. But not more than a few feet in each direction.

Players (and humans in general) are bigger than when the current surface dimensions were decided on. There’s just a lot less room out there especially in the neutral zone. Easier to sit back and clog things up.

There will also be more skating and cycling, which is somewhat nicer to look at than hacking and overloading.

 

[kabidjan18]

I feel like every year or even few months this thread pops up and we have to explain why it's wrong.

Widening the rink only makes it easier for "skill" players if your defensemen are stupid. If a defenseman has a really fast forward bearing down on him, the answer is not to chase the forward wide. The answer is to skate straight backwards and keep your body between the puck and the net. I think people imagine a fantasy where the forward goes wide into the extra wide ice, the defenseman chases him wide and gets beat with speed and the forward gets a penalty shot on the goalie. In actuality, the defenseman will sit straight back and prepare for a shot block, the forward will probably peel back and wait for his team to catch up.

So every year we have to pull up the statistics to show that in the SHL and the Liiga and all the top European leagues, scoring is actually LESS than in the NHL. For those exact reasons.

 

[BigBadBruins7708]

I feel like every year or even few months this thread pops up and we have to explain why it's wrong.

Widening the rink only makes it easier for "skill" players if your defensemen are stupid. If a defenseman has a really fast forward bearing down on him, the answer is not to chase the forward wide. The answer is to skate straight backwards and keep your body between the puck and the net. I think people imagine a fantasy where the forward goes wide into the extra wide ice, the defenseman chases him wide and gets beat with speed and the forward gets a penalty shot on the goalie. In actuality, the defenseman will sit straight back and prepare for a shot block, the forward will probably peel back and wait for his team to catch up.

So every year we have to pull up the statistics to show that in the SHL and the Liiga and all the top European leagues, scoring is actually LESS than in the NHL. For those exact reasons.

This.

It will quickly turn back to the worst of the trap days. Teams will clog the center of the ice and push all the offense wide

 

[golffuul]

Yes
IIHF - New Rule Book for global game

The New Rule Book will bring more standardization of the rink sizes. As they are going to bring all organizations into the same set of rules and regulations, Ice Surface sizes are covered under regulations. KHL already shrunk their rinks a year or so ago, but have some differences...cause KHL.

 

[Jacob]

If people don’t think making the rink bigger will affect the game positively in terms of flow and offense what say we make the rink smaller?

 

[tkb81]

Nope ... and if you need another reason ... becouse ... haha

 

[Machinehead]

Scoring is way up.

Why are we still trying to increase it?

 

[MuckOG]

right a few hundreds of thousand to change the rink would put these millionaire owners into financial strain

pardon my sarcasm, but this not a bonafide reason not to do it

To do so would require that arenas remove about the 1st ten rows all the way around the ice.....those are high dollar seats. No chance.

 

[MikeK]

I'm in favor of larger ice surface rinks. Players are way bigger and faster than they were when the current dimensions were established. There is less room out there then ever before and a lot of times it looks like pond hockey put there.

 

[Roshi]

Sure. Who likes high-intensity, speed and excitement in their hockey anyways.

Fortunately NHL today is very accessable for us europeans too, so we can still enjoy the sports. The game has been ruined here.

 

[rafterman]

To do so would require that arenas remove about the 1st ten rows all the way around the ice.....those are high dollar seats. No chance.

and removing even one row would mess with proper sight lines for the entire lower bowl, requiring all of it to be redone.

 

[rangersfansince08]

There's nothing wrong with what we currently have. The NHL is more physical and has more scoring anyways. It just requires skill players to not be one dimensional and rewards skill players for fighting for the puck, going to the dirty areas, forechecking etc

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

right a few hundreds of thousand to change the rink would put these millionaire owners into financial strain

pardon my sarcasm, but this not a bonafide reason not to do it

I wholeheartedly agree with you. But I also don't hold out hope that the owners would do it.

The league gave owners with the seamless glass in the rinks a crazy amount of time to change it out. And that was something that directly put their player's health at risk. I can't see them wanting to expand the rink for the good of the game.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Are we due for this silly thread again? I didn't realize it's been a year already.

The league with the bigger ice have been going smaller. NHL owners would never approve bigger ice because it means less seats.

Can we close this now?

It's not that simple.

By expanding the rink yes it's a net loss of seats but it's not like they're going to yank out those seats and not change the price of the new lower rows accordingly.

EDIT: and in my example I'm referring to widening the rink by a few feet. I don't think it should be international size.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

If we want more scoring, and more open ice and faster skating, all we need is for the refs to call interference.

International game is way more of a slog, especially at higher levels, but it will be way worse with NHL style game-management.

I can't even begin to imagine an every game ending 1-0 or 2-1 cuz "playoff hockey".

 

[Preposterone]

so for Olympics...but not in European leagues

KHL has been gradually moving towards NHL ice dimensions; well over half their rinks are NHL sized at this point. Finnish Liiga has always been a hybrid size, about halfway between IIHF and NHL. If 3 of the top 5 leagues in the world, including 2 of the 4 strongest European leagues have decided on smaller ice dimensions, it says a lot.

 

[rocketdan9]

KHL has been gradually moving towards NHL ice dimensions; well over half their rinks are NHL sized at this point. Finnish Liiga has always been a hybrid size, about halfway between IIHF and NHL. If 3 of the top 5 leagues in the world, including 2 of the 4 strongest European leagues have decided on smaller ice dimensions, it says a lot.

The difference is

NHL league is more dynamic than either. Best players in the world for a reason

NHL game would make better use of the extra inches around the rink imo

 

[Perfect_Drug]

The difference is

NHL league is more dynamic than either. Best players in the world for a reason

NHL game would make better use of the extra inches around the rink imo

Refs would not allow it.

 

[Beukeboom]

Plenty of situations where I enjoy watching 4 on 4 hockey more... due to room for more skill plays on the ice

The rink size for the NHL has not changed for a long time. While players have become faster + system designed to clog the neutral zone and in front of the net

Is it time to increase the rink size to European rink size standard?? A few lost seats shouldn't be a big deal. Can make it up by charging a little more for the other seats. Should help with overall fan experience with the bigger ice.

There's a thread like this one once a month...

All you have to do is to watch a few European games, then ask yourself why the scoring is lower, the tempo is lower, the hits are fewer, and so on. And you'll have your answer.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Bigger ice would mean less scoring, which would just end up with more people complaining again

I don't think the amount of scoring matters as much as how it's done. A 6-5 game where each goal was scored off a triple deflection shoveled at the net isn't necessarily more exciting than a 3-2 game where each goal was a skilled tic-tac-toe play.