Opinions on the game where you know you are in the minority

[Big Phil]

What things do you hate or like about the game that you know are in the minority with other fans. Here are some of mine:

- I still dislike the netting behind the nets. Sure we're used to them by now, but it just was another thing to disconnect the fans from the players. Back in the day you would try and catch a lot of pucks in warm up from shots that would go off the crossbar and into the stands. Brittany Cecil got hit by a puck in 2002 and died 3 (?) days later. I just thought the NHL was a little extreme in their reactions. Now, would I tell the Cecil family to their faces that there shouldn't be netting back there? No, but just because I wouldn't it doesn't mean I think it is needed. Look at baseball, you've got the netting behind home plate which is obviously needed but you are in danger every pitch of getting scorcher of a foul ball if you are sitting by the dugout.

- Not sure if I am in the minority, but I probably am with Leaf fans. We didn't deserve 1993 and Kerry Fraser - although a blown call on Gretzky - didn't cost us the series or Cup. We did.

- I thought Bobby Orr was far too naïve and may have written the script himself when it came to his exit from the Bruins. Granted he didn't have a lot of hockey left himself, but I don't care if Mr. Rogers was my agent, I would still go directly to the Bruins management - which was Harry Sinden - and find out personally myself whether they truly wanted to let me go. Sinden offered Orr part ownership of the team if I remember correctly and the crooked Alan Eagleson was his agent who left that important detail out, so he signed with the Hawks for a ton of money. If I am Orr, I don't leave the team I called home for a decade until my GM looks me in the face and tells me this is true.

- Hasek wasn't as immortal as we thought in the 1998. He didn't have to be. In the Canada/Czech game we only threw 22 shots at him through three periods and rarely a good quality chance either. We were lost on that big ice. He also didn't look as great as people remember on the shootout. Fleury came dangerously close to beating him, Lindros rang it off the post and Hasek had no clue where the puck was, Nieuwendyk never got a shot on net and lost the puck, Bourque took a weak shot and Shanahan came towards him as slow as possible with a poor attempt.

- I am not sure if I would have picked Gretzky either for the shootout. I am on the fence, but if I don't then I know I am in the minority. Yzerman, Recchi at the very least were guys I would have wanted instead.

- I dislike two very structured things players do. I hate when the players stand at center ice and lift their sticks to salute the fans and I dislike when players do the fist bump down the bench to each player after a goal. Just too unnatural for me.

- You can tell me if this is in the minority or not, maybe it is, but I could care less about any insult the players say to one another and roll my eyes at the lip readers that demand apologies. The Getzlaf thing was just ridiculous recently as anyone who has played sports has heard that and much worse. Every discussion on facebook seemed to be showing the same sort of opinion other than the odd "he's a role model for children" type of comment. I always figure if the media never shed light on it we'd never know about it, which is ironic. I think the trash talk humanizes the game and keeps the intensity going.

- I actually applauded Dion Phaneuf who supposedly was the force behind "snubbing" the fans who booed them by not saluting them at the end of the game. After a loss it looks pathetic seeing the players being forced to stand there and lift their sticks, good grief, let them just get off the ice, its all they want to do.

Click to read more...

 

[Pyrophorus]

Having full face masks.

 

[KingBran]

- I like the shootout and will take anything over a tie.
- I hate how the rules "change" for playoff hockey. It makes no sense.
- I am OK if they eliminate fighting from hockey.
- Ken Hitchcock is not a good coach, He is just smart and always coached teams that SHOULD win regardless of his coaching. Yet he only has 1 cup, awful playoff numbers but is still talked about as one of the best ever.
- I don't think they need to change any equipment players wear or net sizes. Just leave it be.

 

[Chan790]

I'd rather see the tie return than the shootout stay.

The "loser point" (note the "" so we don't need to argue about semantics. The nature of the point is irrelevant.) I want to see it go away. Losing teams should get nothing. If you want to give the winning team only one point for winning, that's fine too. But losers should get nothing.

 

[NCRanger]

- Ties are fine.
- I'm for expanding the playoffs.
- I hate the nets behind the goals. The NHL did it for pure liability purposes. They would never appear to "victim blame" and they'd never censure an organization, even when in fact it was the stupid mascot doing a routine during the play which caused the Cecil family (and others) to be distracted from the play on ice.
- I would ban mascots and "cheerleaders" from the seating bowl except during intermissions, as well as in-house artificial noise making and jumbotron nonsense.
- Eliminate hybrid icing and allow discretion on whether the icing is a missed pass.
- I don't hate the trapezoid.

 

[SealsFan]

I suppose it depends on which section of the forum you're posting on. The few times I've posted opinions in the main forum which would not be out of place here on the history forum, my comments were not well-received. I suppose I sounded like the old geezer saying, "get off my lawn, you kids!"

Anyway, if ties are a problem that the NHL wants to eliminate by all of these overtime/shootout rules the past 17 years, the WHA had a solution that seemed to work - 10-minute overtimes. In the 9 years of the WHA, the most ties any team had was 9 and a few times a team had zero ties. But I doubt the NHL would institute a rule change that originated with the WHA.

 

[SealsFan]

I know 100 years of hockey aren't about to be changed but I think assists are too cheap and should not have equal scoring value as goals. If the NHL is going to keep the current system of 2 assists per goal and an assist awarded for just touching the puck or having it bounce off your butt to a player who scores, then assists should be counted as half a point.

Otherwise, one assist per goal and only awarded on a great set-up pass, similar to basketball, at the discretion of the official scorer. A player in hoops doesn't get an assist every time he casually tosses the ball over to a guy who puts in a jump shot. So if the LD has the puck and slides it over to the other point and the RD puts in a slapshot, no assist. Whereas if a winger battles in the corner and comes out with the puck and feeds it to the point and the RD puts it in, that could be an assist.

 

[Big Phil]

Having full face masks.

Would you be in the minority for that? I'm with you 100% on that one, they aren't needed. One thing that benefits the game is the familiarity of the players, a facemask removes that. Also, the sight lines are worse with full face masks.

Ken Hitchcock is not a good coach, He is just smart and always coached teams that SHOULD win regardless of his coaching. Yet he only has 1 cup, awful playoff numbers but is still talked about as one of the best ever.

I was never a fan of Hitchcock either. Got a Cup with the type of team that could do it during an era where it benefitted him but he's been just mediocre since then. Dallas played too much of a "smother and trap" style that was not easy on the eyes. I'd hate it if he was my coach. The game of hockey is the winner when he isn't a coach in the NHL.

I hate the nets behind the goals. The NHL did it for pure liability purposes. They would never appear to "victim blame" and they'd never censure an organization, even when in fact it was the stupid mascot doing a routine during the play which caused the Cecil family (and others) to be distracted from the play on ice.

- Eliminate hybrid icing and allow discretion on whether the icing is a missed pass.

I had no idea this was the reason behind Brittany Cecil getting hit with the puck. I saw the video of when Espen Knutsen shot the puck and it was on a bit of a 3 on 2 rush. Derek Morris got his stick in front of it and it went flying into the crowd. Was all of this commotion going on with the mascot while the play was happening?

I agree on the 2nd one though too. Especially in this playoffs, man have they ever been generous with those icings.

 

[66871]

Perhaps not appropriate for the history forum but...

Delay of game and too many men on the ice should only be one minute penalties -- otherwise they become ridiculously over-important in the playoffs when the whistles are swallowed.

 

[NCRanger]

Would you be in the minority for that? I'm with you 100% on that one, they aren't needed. One thing that benefits the game is the familiarity of the players, a facemask removes that. Also, the sight lines are worse with full face masks.



I was never a fan of Hitchcock either. Got a Cup with the type of team that could do it during an era where it benefitted him but he's been just mediocre since then. Dallas played too much of a "smother and trap" style that was not easy on the eyes. I'd hate it if he was my coach. The game of hockey is the winner when he isn't a coach in the NHL.



I had no idea this was the reason behind Brittany Cecil getting hit with the puck. I saw the video of when Espen Knutsen shot the puck and it was on a bit of a 3 on 2 rush. Derek Morris got his stick in front of it and it went flying into the crowd. Was all of this commotion going on with the mascot while the play was happening?

I agree on the 2nd one though too. Especially in this playoffs, man have they ever been generous with those icings.

The first few articles that came out about it had her dad saying that both of them weren't completely focused on the play because the mascot was dancing around in the section over from theirs. He said that they never saw the puck coming because they weren't completely focused on the ice. This got purged from the record really quickly.

The only video would be the broadcast video that wouldn't pick up anything in the crowd. Plus, these were the days before smartphones so no one in the crowd would have video of the mascot antics.

It's always bothered me that the Blue Jackets organization never took any blame for the incident and the NHL covered it all up by placing "safety nets" behind the goals quickly. Seemed that protecting an expansion team's "entertainment" took precedence over actual fan safety and league tradition.

 

[Neutrinos]

The first few articles that came out about it had her dad saying that both of them weren't completely focused on the play because the mascot was dancing around in the section over from theirs. He said that they never saw the puck coming because they weren't completely focused on the ice. This got purged from the record really quickly.

The only video would be the broadcast video that wouldn't pick up anything in the crowd. Plus, these were the days before smartphones so no one in the crowd would have video of the mascot antics.

It's always bothered me that the Blue Jackets organization never took any blame for the incident and the NHL covered it all up by placing "safety nets" behind the goals quickly. Seemed that protecting an expansion team's "entertainment" took precedence over actual fan safety and league tradition.

It was a tragic accident, no doubt, but how exactly were Columbus and the NHL negligent or responsible in any way?

 

[Neutrinos]

I think there are too many stops in play, so if the puck hits the netting and lands back on the ice surface -- play on!

 

[NCRanger]

It was a tragic accident, no doubt, but how exactly were Columbus and the NHL negligent or responsible in any way?

Because if it was proven that the actions by the mascot in fact did cause eyes to be turned away from the game, there is negligence. I don't blame the NHL. I do blame the Blue Jackets though. You are told before the game starts that pucks will leave the playing surface and to be aware at all times for pucks and sticks to fly into the seats. If something done by the organization did attract eyes off the ice, that goes against the legal disclaimer the league has all the teams read and could be used.

Other things are not supposed to be going on during live play, especially things that would draw young eyes. Many arenas will not let you walk down the aisles when play is live.

 

[tarheelhockey]

- I agree on the netting being a detriment to the live experience. I get that it's legally necessary, but there's a reason the NFL doesn't leave the field goal net up throughout the game.

- Ties are, frankly, a stupid concept for pro sports entertainment. I have no idea why anyone would spend hundreds of dollars and an entire Saturday evening watching a contest where the end result is... everyone gives up and goes home. It's absolutely baffling that it took almost a century for someone to figure out the concept of a "tie breaker" in this sport.

- I also support expanding the playoffs. You can't just double the number of teams in a league, and leave the playoff bracket the same size. If you're going to make the playoffs a 2 month, 4-round marathon, then cutting half the league out of the picture is not smart business.

- The whole concept of "grinding the other team down" has become a pervasive sickness in this sport. The notion is rooted in a blue-collar work ethic which is a farce in the modern game. It long ago stopped referring to having better physical stamina and willingness to outwork the other guy. Now it means you throw your body at him until one of you gets injured. There's only one reason a team or player would adopt that tactic, and it's not because they're better at playing the game than their opponent.

- The league should have gone 4-on-4 after the 2005 lockout. Instead they decided to crack down on penalties, which turned out to be a Band-Aid solution. Now that the more-penalties solution has gone to pot, it's time to start having a serious conversation about removing a player from the ice. A misplaced sense of tradition and fears of the union are slowly choking the game.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

I think the league should increase the size of the goals by a few inches to compensate for the increase in the size of goalies and especially their equipment. Only major sport I can think lf where the scoring area has shrunk by such a large percentage.

I also think the league should look into making it a penalty to leave ones feet to block shots. Same reason - equipment changes make coming shots a routine play in a way that it never was before.

The NHL is never going to go back to less safe equipment, even if it would make the game quite a bit more entertaining

 

[seventieslord]

I think the league should increase the size of the goals by a few inches to compensate for the increase in the size of goalies and especially their equipment. Only major sport I can think lf where the scoring area has shrunk by such a large percentage.

I agree with this. I don't know if this is even a minority opinion, is it?

My minority opinion - I would be willing to suffer through a whole season of pure powerplay hockey if I had to, in order to weed out the interference from the game. I hate more than anything when a forward dumps it in and tries to chase it, and has to dodge the defenseman trying to hold him up. Call that every single time.

 

[Edmonton East]

Yea, I don't like the safety nets, but think you all are making some pretty poor arguments. As technology and training have increased, more and more guys are ripping the puck in the 90s. A few in the 100s. Having goalies the size of the Michelin man, yet no protective netting to defend spectators who could be within 20 yards or so of the net in jeans and a tshirt seems insane to me. I also feel like there are a lot more deflections nowadays since players have more padding and are more likely to dive in front of pucks (increasing likelihood of going into the stands). I can't prove that of course, just a hunch.

And the football kicking net comparison is ridiculous. C'mon. Softer object. Slower speed. Generally over a longer distance. During a SET PLAY (ie predictable).

 

[Damisoph]

- Not sure if I am in the minority, but I probably am with Leaf fans. We didn't deserve 1993 and Kerry Fraser - although a blown call on Gretzky - didn't cost us the series or Cup. We did.

We sure didn't deserve Kerry Fraser lol

It's a crutch used by a lot of Leaf fans but I agree with your stance. Anderson took the dumb penalty at the end of the third which gave the Kings that PP. There is no guarantee LA wouldn't have won in OT even with a Leafs 5min PP and Gretzky kicked out.

Then we had game 7 at home, our fate in our own hands. Even with Gretzky's "best game ever", we still had a chance to win and couldn't do it.

The 92/93 Leafs just felt like a team of destiny, I still think we would have beat the Habs in the final.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Yea, I don't like the safety nets, but think you all are making some pretty poor arguments. As technology and training have increased, more and more guys are ripping the puck in the 90s. A few in the 100s. Having goalies the size of the Michelin man, yet no protective netting to defend spectators who could be within 20 yards or so of the net in jeans and a tshirt seems insane to me. I also feel like there are a lot more deflections nowadays since players have more padding and are more likely to dive in front of pucks (increasing likelihood of going into the stands). I can't prove that of course, just a hunch.

So raise the glass. If the puck is going up at even a *slightly* steeper angle, it poses no real threat to a fan. Certainly no more so than a fly ball at a baseball game, which soars up into the air and then comes down at catchable speed.

And the football kicking net comparison is ridiculous. C'mon. Softer object. Slower speed. Generally over a longer distance. During a SET PLAY (ie predictable).

That's not the point. They could just as easily leave the net up throughout the game, but choose not to leave it up obstructing people's view. There's a reason they bother to have it on a pulley system so they can get it up and then down as quickly as possible.

The live experience of attending an NHL game involves looking directly through a mesh net for at least half the arena. That's an outrageously poor quality viewing experience compared to any other major sport.

 

[Neutrinos]

Because if it was proven that the actions by the mascot in fact did cause eyes to be turned away from the game, there is negligence. I don't blame the NHL. I do blame the Blue Jackets though. You are told before the game starts that pucks will leave the playing surface and to be aware at all times for pucks and sticks to fly into the seats. If something done by the organization did attract eyes off the ice, that goes against the legal disclaimer the league has all the teams read and could be used.

Other things are not supposed to be going on during live play, especially things that would draw young eyes. Many arenas will not let you walk down the aisles when play is live.

I might be wrong, but I don't think your argument has any legal basis

 

[The Panther]

I also dislike the mesh behind the nets, but it's seeming not to be a minority opinion...

Mine:

- Expansion beyond 24 teams ruined the entertainment value of the League

- While I obviously respect the NHLPA's right to existence, I think its narrow-minded approach of playing hardball in every conceivable situation has also contributed to ruining the League. Basically, I think the NHLPA should deal with financial matters (like pension) on behalf of its players and butt-out of the rules-changes and so on.

- The playoffs should be shorter, not longer. Three rounds is enough. And the first round should go back to best of five. I do not need hockey on when it's 30 degrees and I'm heading to the beach.

- Wooden sticks should be mandatory.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Interference Should Be Allowed

The issues with interference are simple. Cheap penalties result,actually hurting the flow of the game. Playing the game is dumbed down, removing much of the thinking and offence from the game. On ice awareness is reduced, injuries - concussions increase.

Specifically.

Diving, embellishment and exaggeration are now part of the game - integral to the strategy of drawing a penalty producing a PP opportunity. However what happens when a penalty is not called? The play goes on. The team of the player - now out of position and out of the play is playing short yet they control the puck. Kiss offence good-bye.

The interference that occurs is beneficial to offence as long as the player being interfered with knows how to read and interpret it.The blade of the stick on a hip from behind, defines time and space for the skater. Tells the skater where his check is, what side, is the stick side covered. Combined with his visuals of the play in front of him, The skater can make better offensive decisions, leverage/position the checker behind him out of the play plus knowing where to pick him up when the play goes the other way. Off course this requires study and thought. Knowing your checks tendancies, strengths and weaknesses plus basic things like his handedness.

Interference also facilitates on ice awareness. Checkers behind the skater, in the blind spots reveal themselves. Skaters have a greater on ice awareness of potential hits.

 

[Sanf]

- Expansion beyond 24 teams ruined the entertainment value of the League

Biased, but from European perspective I think there are too many NHL teams. You can almost double that number when talking about the guys who are with contract in minors. I like to watch NHL, but I still prefer to watch my home country´s league. Smaller amount of teams would free players to Europe. And ofcourse increase the quality of NHL teams.

In similar way dropping the fourth line out of hockey (or NHL). Yet again it would free players for "lower levels", would leave NHL for more quality players and might even be answer (or atleast help) to increasingly fast game which is becoming real danger...

edit. Actually not really history answers so bit of OT...

 

[Beau Knows]

-Fighting is completely silly and pointless.
-I wouldn't complain if the season was shortened a bit.
-NHL needs to and I think will one day look at hits not only from the perspective of being clean by the rules but also if they were necessary at all or over the top. Charging is rarely called, some players constantly jump into hits. Players are laying hits seconds after the puck has already left the other players stick. Some players are out there pretty much only to "grind down" their opponent, which really means they hope to injure them eventually even if it means ignoring the puck and just trying to lay hits on the puck carrier - I don't think this really follows the spirit of the game.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Not So.....

Biased, but from European perspective I think there are too many NHL teams. You can almost double that number when talking about the guys who are with contract in minors. I like to watch NHL, but I still prefer to watch my home country´s league. Smaller amount of teams would free players to Europe. And ofcourse increase the quality of NHL teams.

In similar way dropping the fourth line out of hockey (or NHL). Yet again it would free players for "lower levels", would leave NHL for more quality players and might even be answer (or atleast help) to increasingly fast game which is becoming real danger...

edit. Actually not really history answers so bit of OT...

Very much a history topic. Touches on how the structure of a team has changed over time, how strategies evolve.

Teams at various levels no longer have a vertical stream of player talent, so all backgrounds in the game have to be accounted for. True for European teams where NA player backgrounds have to be integrated as well.

Likewise strategies. Various varieties of rules have to be integrated into a unifying strategies.