Speculation: Potential off-season rule changes?

[RandyHolt]

Just put the rink back to the same configuration as in the 80's. Taking space out of the neutral zone and adding it behind the net has not created a bunch of Gretzkys making plays from back there. And less neutral zone space has made it easier to neutral zone trap. Also speed is gained in the neutral zone so less neutral zone means less speed and thus easier for the defense.

Also minor penalties used to be the full 2 minutes, whether the team scored a PP goal or not. Since they don't want to call penalties anymore at least let the ones they do call sometimes last longer.

Good stuff. Certainly almost everything the league has done, has failed. To fix it, a fine place to start is to undo all the changes done, and relieve of duty whoever decided upon those failed changes. But the league is too stubborn to admit failure Can't Undo Ctrl+Z, so will implement more 3 on 3.

And likely some other dumb change, like increase the goalie no play zone so they stumble into it more often. PP!

Goalie Pad changes were done for the 13-14 season, reducing the height of the pillows an inch of 2. I think the pillows are still much bigger than 30 years ago, and the players are as well. Larger goalies are allowed larger pads, right? Larger Dmen, larger forwards, less room for that seeing eye puck. Heck Nisky 7M and others cannot even get pucks on net.

Trying to find side by side photos of goalie pads of different eras is not easy. Look at the weight of the pillow on his thigh. Its about as wide as his leg. Compare to Braden.

Do not tell me this is not a factor when comparing scoring.

 

[txpd]

are you talking about the pads or that tom doesn't look like his ready to stop anything.

post a compare of a era correct patrick roy and any current butterfly guy. I bet its not so different looking.

 

[txpd]

never seen this before...speaking of goalies

 

[NobodyBeatsTheWiz]

If you try to regulate the size of goalie pads, two things will happen:

1. Every goalie will have a legal set of pads and an illegal set of pads. It'll be too tough to enforce.

2. Goalies will add padding under their uniform.

With the focus on player safety, reductions to 1980s era pads won't happen.

 

[BrooklynCapsFan]

If you try to regulate the size of goalie pads, two things will happen:

1. Every goalie will have a legal set of pads and an illegal set of pads. It'll be too tough to enforce.

Ron Wilson's go-to move will be to call for pad measurements during a PP late in the game

 

[Brian23]

I really feel like the easiest, and simplest, thing would be to start calling obstruction penalties. Even a slight increase will lead to more scoring as players have to play the game cleaner.

 

[RandyHolt]

Obstruction is so subjective. Two guys fighting for position in front. Try and simply skate alongside someone backchecking. You are all arms legs and stick. Touching an opponent .1 seconds before the puck gets there, or .1 seconds later than you should passing it. There is only so much room especially when cycling, guys collide all the time in hockey.

Great, so we inflate scoring by blowing whistles and calling penalties. Come playoff time, we all know, the whistles will be buried, and the game will change.

I want to see 5 on 5 scoring attempted to be resolved. They have made every rule change possible to find new penalties to call, and blowing 1 or 2 more whistles is not really going to change things, since teams only score 25% of the time. Great so we get an extra goal every 4 games. Will you notice without looking at player stats at year end?

You just have to let them play to have any sort of flow to the game. Flow to the game is very important to the NHL powers, I am almost certain.

Goalies can still be fully protected with smaller leg pads. Measure circumference pregame as they come out. If its imperative to resolve this, changing two players equipment seems a damn easy thing to try. No rule changes, no interpretation of rule changes etc.

 

[IafrateOvie34]

I would start with smaller goalie pads. Let the goalie play the ******* puck anywhere he wants. Make the crease a little smaller.

Whoever decided that what we are seeing cough Mario was for the best, I do not want them involved in any way at how the game should be re-shaped going forward.

This tossing us "an entertainment nugget" via the shootout because the game lacked get up out of your seat offense, is getting old.

Gift points need to end. There should be more emotion in the game. Less robots.

I would also get rid of the 2nd official that is in the way EVERY FREAKING GAME, and simply empower the 2 linesman more.

If it weren't for Ovi and our boys playing every game like a playoff game, I was close to not watching. I never watched less hockey than last year, in 30+ years.

Something needs to be done. NHL hockey is still very much the hardworking Canadian boys network. It is not an all star game no matter how much they try to make it one. One hardworking guy pots a few more goals than expected, and he is a dog star. That's how bad it is.

Five star post RH! Nothing is more frustrating than having an official get in the way. At least it went our way with SJ last week . I guess we're getting older, but the coverage of the NHL is just terrible, IMO. I can't handle the NHL network and considered dropping my Dish package and skip the NHL network next season. Don't get me started on the Saturday coverage with HNIC. Such a shame of what that broadcast team is now compared to 20 years ago. I turned it on last Saturday before the Caps/Kings game and had to mute. Hughson and Simpson are simply awful. Absolutely get rid of the shootout!

 

[IafrateOvie34]

If you try to regulate the size of goalie pads, two things will happen:

1. Every goalie will have a legal set of pads and an illegal set of pads. It'll be too tough to enforce.

2. Goalies will add padding under their uniform.

With the focus on player safety, reductions to 1980s era pads won't happen.

Very good point, but the retro look is awesome and I miss it.

 

[RandyHolt]

Five star post RH! Nothing is more ...

hey thanks, mad props coming from you.

I obviously have much to say about the what i consider mostly futile efforts to make the game "better".

I wish a study could be done on player equipment and safety from different eras. But the game was far far more brutal in the 1980's, so comparisons are likely impossible.

Players appeared tougher. Just last game 3 guys blocked shots. All 3 acted as if they were in significant pain / injured. You never saw that in the 80's in 1 game. Langway Engblom Stevens and on and on they never showed pain and ate a lot more pucks. So there is more going on than just the new pads = moar safer.

I will say I do not think wider and thicker goalie pillows makes the game safer for goalies. I think its more likely to tear up their groins having their legs kept wider.

Maybe goalies game missed to injury could be compared across different eras. Back then the crease was tiny and players were allowed to storm it (aka "dale" it). They would be checked playing the puck. I suspect goalies get as injured as often now as then.

Token ditch the instigator in case no one else mentioned it.

 

[HunterSThompson]

Crazy idea: make the goal differential each game determine the amount of standings points

 

[Ajax1995]

Crazy idea: make the goal differential each game determine the amount of standings points

So a SO win gets you the same number of standings points as a 1 goal regulation time win?

 

[fedfed]

I once had an idea that I think might be interesting to treat any stoppage as an icing as far as changes are concerned. You can't change after offsides, goalie stoppages, hand passes, high sticks, etc. Of course, if you're an offending team.

 

[txpd]

where do you fit the tv timeouts in then?

 

[HunterSThompson]

So a SO win gets you the same number of standings points as a 1 goal regulation time win?

If they had shootouts. It also doesn't have to be 1 for 1, it could be tiered. I would assume teams would never stop trying to score, so that would be good.

 

[Hivemind]

where do you fit the tv timeouts in then?

I don't necessarily endorse the idea, but you could still have your tv timeouts. It wouldn't be quite the advantage of icing (tired personnel + match-up advantage), but it would still provide the match-up advantage to the non-offending team.

 

[Maruk moustache]

Even if the shootout is gone they still would need to fix the ridiculous standings points structure.

The most glaring issue in the rules to me is when contending team A gets penalized during the regular season just because other contending teams B and C happen to tie in regulation, turning a 2-point game into a 3-point game.

I'm sure this came about because of some kind of compromise between two or more factions. It was certainly the opposite of a principled rules change.

And I've also got no idea why OT is treated the same as a shootout in terms of standings points. An OT win should be like a regulation win.

So, if you keep shootouts, I think it's so obvious that you do the 3 points for a regulation or OT win, 2 points for a shootout win, 1 point for a shootout loss. Keep every game always the same number of points so the teams not playing in it aren't arbitrarily penalized.

If you want to insist on continuing to treat OT wins like shootout wins, then 3 points for regulation win, 2 points for an OT or shootout win, 1 point for an OT or shootout loss--that'd still be better than what we got now.

If you don't keep shootouts, we just go back to where it was, where a game might end in a tie. Really it's OK to have a tie in the regular season.

Probably I didn't see this mentioned in this thread because it goes without saying though. I have no doubt this ridiculous situation will be changed soon.

 

[RandyHolt]

End the regulation gift / OT loser point. It serves no purpose. It causes complacency.

Teams clearly need incentive to try to score to win in regulation which will increase scoring. Anyone remember the 3rd period of games in the 80's? Now that shootout game winner is not even on a ledger. And people wonder why goal scoring is down.

Now the big excitement is never more than 5 minutes of 4 on 4 OT, which we won't even see when the games count fo real.

People want more penalty calls thinking it means more goals. I want to see offensive zone penalties called less to offset the defensive petty interference stuff driving folks bonkers. I think we will see an increase in scoring without having to blow the whistle.

There are ways to increase scoring without calling more penalties

 

[txpd]

I don't necessarily endorse the idea, but you could still have your tv timeouts. It wouldn't be quite the advantage of icing (tired personnel + match-up advantage), but it would still provide the match-up advantage to the non-offending team.

that's only a home team advantage. you essentially penalizing just the home team.

 

[txpd]

Teams clearly need incentive to try to score to win in regulation which will increase scoring. Anyone remember the 3rd period of games in the 80's? Now that shootout game winner is not even on a ledger. And people wonder why goal scoring is down.

yes....3rd periods in the 80s was refs swallow the whistle and anything goes. They just tackled Mike Gartner. no worry about trying to hide it.

 

[RandyHolt]

yes....3rd periods in the 80s was refs swallow the whistle and anything goes. They just tackled Mike Gartner. no worry about trying to hide it.

And Dale Hunter would storm the crease to counter it. It all evened out in the end, didn't it?

The games were never more exciting.

Fact is you liked the game in the 80's and its ironic why you go out of your way to poo poo it so much. Gartner never got tackled on a breakaway as you imply was common place in every game every night every year.

Its simply not true. Now we get refs calling the weakest of calls imaginable in the hopes a PP goal is scored. You prefer the refs to decide the games. I don't. For now, they are often wrong.

 

[fedfed]

where do you fit the tv timeouts in then?

Good question. I think timeouts could be allowed on some occasions.

 

[Maruk moustache]

End the regulation gift / OT loser point. It serves no purpose. It causes complacency.

Teams clearly need incentive to try to score to win in regulation which will increase scoring. Anyone remember the 3rd period of games in the 80's? Now that shootout game winner is not even on a ledger. And people wonder why goal scoring is down.

Now the big excitement is never more than 5 minutes of 4 on 4 OT, which we won't even see when the games count fo real.

People want more penalty calls thinking it means more goals. I want to see offensive zone penalties called less to offset the defensive petty interference stuff driving folks bonkers. I think we will see an increase in scoring without having to blow the whistle.

There are ways to increase scoring without calling more penalties

I guess now that I think about it I don't really need each game to have an equal number of points, necessarily. The problem is just that teams not playing shouldn't be penalized just because the game ends in regulation in a tie.

So the usual soccer system--3 for a win and 1 for a tie--that'd be OK with me too, y'know, if ties were brought back. Somehow that doesn't feel unjust for the teams not playing.

The current NHL system definitely does feel unjust though. It just shouldn't be that tying in regulation penalizes the teams not involved in the game. Ties at whatever point in the game you're talking about--if they are to penalize anyone they should be penalizing only the teams that did the tying.

 

[Efactor]

This Pens 2nd period is what the game looks like if you call it tighter. Over 15 mins of PP. Not sure that is the answer.

 

[Ajax1995]

I once had an idea that I think might be interesting to treat any stoppage as an icing as far as changes are concerned. You can't change after offsides, goalie stoppages, hand passes, high sticks, etc. Of course, if you're an offending team.

Some of that I guess I could get behind but definitely not all of it. A goalie makes a save and holds the puck = icing? Any offsides = icing? That's absurd IMO. Intentional offsides, hand passes, maybe playing it with a high stick, though some of those are really borderline, I guess possibly but I don't think the end result of just that is going to be much if any increased scoring.