The NHL - In 20 years

[lotionmyfeet*]

jetpacks, lasers, jetpacks with lasers

 

[DL44]

 

[islesforlife]

Will DiPietro's contract be up by then?

Yes actually. By 5 years.... Only 5.

I think a multi-continent NHL is very possible. Teams in Helsinki and Stockholm, maybe Moscow if NHL can take over KHL territory.

And Quebec City still won't have a team

Doubt that'd happen. There already enough controversy over time zones as it. Adding in teams AT MINIMUM 5 hours ahead (UK to East Coast; could be 3 1/2 if team goes to Newfoundland) would make it even worse. Also, there would be massive scheduling issues. Either there would have to be a lot LESS games to allow for international overseas travel OR there would have to be a much more spaced out schedule, to the point where it may need to be a year-long schedule that would wear down on the players to the point where they would probably all end up retiring a lot earlier. NA/Euro NHL would be massively problematic.

 

[Space Herpe]

Yes actually. By 5 years.... Only 5.



Doubt that'd happen. There already enough controversy over time zones as it. Adding in teams AT MINIMUM 5 hours ahead (UK to East Coast; could be 3 1/2 if team goes to Newfoundland) would make it even worse. Also, there would be massive scheduling issues. Either there would have to be a lot LESS games to allow for international overseas travel OR there would have to be a much more spaced out schedule, to the point where it may need to be a year-long schedule that would wear down on the players to the point where they would probably all end up retiring a lot earlier. NA/Euro NHL would be massively problematic.

Could have 20 something teams in Europe.

Winner of their playoffs plays winner of the NHL's playoffs for the Cup.

 

[TheOtherScott]

This has been happening in other sports for a while now, but there's going to be a very dominant and very prevalent body type among NHLers. Michael Phelps has a 6'7" wingspan on a 6'4" body, and very short legs relative to his height. The top marathon runners aren't just from the same country, they're from the same tribe. It'll happen to hockey. Hope you like 6'8" goalies.

 

[revolverjgw]

Yellowstone will have exploded by that time, engulfing the planet in a thick cloud of smoke that will blot out the sun for years. Deep underneath the Cheyenne Mountain, the last group of surviving humans gather around a salvaged iPad and watch the only remaining footage of the sport once known as ice hockey, a short clip of John Scott rifling the puck over Brayden Holtby's shoulder. This amazing imagery becomes a great source of inspiration for this group of survivors, who claw their way out of the ashes to rebuild society, teach the game of hockey to their ancestors, and build a religion around John Scott, who becomes the most important icon since Jesus Christ.

 

[canadianguy77]

After the NHL is done with the concussion lawsuits it will be bankrupt, and like the NFL, the NHL will be remembered as a "barbaric" sport, and will cease to exist.

I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Elimanator]

Ads ads ads ads everywhere which I will hate. At least 34 teams. Tonnes of advanced stats. They will probably ban fighting hitting and slapshots "because they might cause injuries" lol

 

[Philoops]

Phillips will be getting 20 minutes a night while paired with Karlsson

 

[islesjuncky]

Chelios comes back and wins Hart

 

[NickWIHockey]

teams in Wisconsin Quebec, Seattle and Houston are added. A preliminary round of playoffs are added 7V10, 8v9 best of 3. top scorer award is renamed the Gretzky award. best goalie renamed for Broduer. fighting will still exist, games will be worth 3 points, ties wil be reinstated after 10 minutes of OT.

 

[KirkOut]

Human athletes will be replaced by robots/cyborgs.

Hockeybot5000 will be the best player.

ugh. I like Hockeybot5000 as much as the next guy but he's really starting to get overrated on this site. I mean his 200 mph backhander is great but he was programmed to be too much of a floater in the D zone. I think BergtoewsitarBot371911 is the best

 

[KMart27]

Yes actually. By 5 years.... Only 5.



Doubt that'd happen. There already enough controversy over time zones as it. Adding in teams AT MINIMUM 5 hours ahead (UK to East Coast; could be 3 1/2 if team goes to Newfoundland) would make it even worse. Also, there would be massive scheduling issues. Either there would have to be a lot LESS games to allow for international overseas travel OR there would have to be a much more spaced out schedule, to the point where it may need to be a year-long schedule that would wear down on the players to the point where they would probably all end up retiring a lot earlier. NA/Euro NHL would be massively problematic.

Will Yashin be off the payroll by then?

 

[Dednimnepo]

Each player and the ref will have a camera. Premium watchers will be able to pick and choose the viewing style bouncing around the cameras on multiple screens so, if you want, it feels like you are playing as your preferred star.

 

[Isles5513]

Will Yashin be off the payroll by then?

Actually, yes. Last year on the payroll is this year I believe.

 

[Ace88*]

The KNHL Cup will be won after a grueling 7-game series. The champions of the KHL, now known as the Euro-Putin Hockey League,(after the Russian leader took over europe and rebuilt the USSR) will face off against the NHL champions and the recipientsof the glory of Lawd Stanley's Mug. The event takes place in Dubai, with the Las Vegas Wild Cards taking the series against a powerhouse HC Sicily. Joey Veleno plays his last game and retires off a 4 point KNHL finals game 7. He is 97 points shy of Gretzky.

Gary Bettman is (rip) replaced by Brendan Shanahan after 2028's dissolution of the Leafs following a total martial law crackdown in Toronto. The tension had broken--leaf fans completely broke down after 10 straight years of finals appearances with no Cup. Despite Phil Kessel having piled up 800 career goals, they lost in the tenth year and the city was plunged into utter chaos and mayhem.

The police couldnt keep the city at bay, and so the pot boiled over. Toronto's undoing--the very thing they loved was that which undid them--goes down as the most covered story in all of canada outside Toronto.

Bless you Shanahan for the **** pile of problems you have just inherited. Finish Gary's dream of expanding to 50 teams, including Barbados.

 

[Bulls9220]

Jagr will be considering retirement.

 

[BMOK33]

The NY Rangers sign John Tavares to a 2 year 16 million dollar deal.

LOL...he'll be long retired by then...he'd be 44 if he was still playing in 20 years.

 

[Mr Forever]

It's difficult to say whether or not it'll exist. I mean, I'm sure it will in twenty years, but say fifty, I'm not so sure. I've read speculation the nfl won't exist in 2040 because of the backlash from serious head injuries, people don't want their kids playing a sport with such risks. I think hockey may be viewed in the same domain. Another thing is cost. Obviously hockey is incredih expensive, not only for individual, with the cost of gear, but for communities with the cost of maintaining the necessary facilities. I've read some demographic research that suggests hockey enrolment is really going down, and it's turning into an elitist game. Who knows what'll happen.

 

[EmeticDonut]

Human athletes will be replaced by robots/cyborgs.

Hockeybot5000 will be the best player.

Yet their personalities will be indistinguishable from today's players.

 

[gratefulyours]

replay mechanic based on timeouts lost if a coach is wrong.

refs replaced by monkeys with whistles...cheaper, no union, and can call the plays just as well.

 

[Dirty but Good]

Doubt that'd happen. There already enough controversy over time zones as it. Adding in teams AT MINIMUM 5 hours ahead (UK to East Coast; could be 3 1/2 if team goes to Newfoundland) would make it even worse. Also, there would be massive scheduling issues. Either there would have to be a lot LESS games to allow for international overseas travel OR there would have to be a much more spaced out schedule, to the point where it may need to be a year-long schedule that would wear down on the players to the point where they would probably all end up retiring a lot earlier. NA/Euro NHL would be massively problematic.

First off, I don't actually want to see this happen, but it is possible.

Obviously travel is the big issue but at the same time imagine what traveling speed & technology advances will be in the next 20 years, could be even more doable than it is now.

I think its plausible to think each year a North American team takes a two-week road trip in Europe each season to play the teams there.

The biggest issue with the whole think is the risk that all the European NHL stars flock to the European NHL teams and it lowers the talent pool and star power by the North American NHL teams.

 

[Demon Eyes]

flag hockey played with a sponge puck. with padded boards like what covers the uprights in football.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

yes but also much more attention to the stars, I think Crosby whos the face of the league right now is not being as much used/abused as he can hypothetically be.

I thought most of the people are sick of Crosby, because he is in the news all the time? I think he's been used enough..