You've been appointed NHL Commissioner in '79 . . .

[Hobnobs]

1) Revenue sharing
2) Better vetting of owners
3) Tougher suspensions (especially for hits to the head)
4) Shorter schedule at around 50 games for health and longevity reasons
5) Draft age at 20-21

 

[ICM1970]

I would give a two to three year review period of the legal grandfathering of helmets. It would be interesting to study if helmeted players were that good bit more likely to take elbows, high sticks, and hits from behind than veterans who signed waivers to continue playing bareheaded. After that time if it has been determined that helmets do indeed enable more penalties and detract from fan/player visibility, make them optional again and add stricter penalties for stickwork and boarding infractions plus phase in bigger rinks (when the older ones were being retired) as to accommodate for the bigger and faster players and allow for a reasonable margin of safety for those who want to continue playing without headgear.

 

[LeBlondeDemon10]

No uniform or logo changes. Get it right the first time. You can’t manufacture iconic.

There will ALWAYS be a team in Quebec City.

Another team in the GTA.

Only wooden sticks.

No ads on the ice surface.

Schedule starts no later than Sept 15th of every year.

No licensing fees for equipment. Players and goalies wear whatever makes them feel safest and most comfortable.

Expose and prosecute Alan Eagleson.

Agreed on the no logo changes. Except maybe the original Mighty Ducks....no?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

looking back, being proactive about collective bargaining and revenue sharing before the scale of professional sports skyrocketed would probably solve everything

you don't destroy your momentum following the one-two punch of a gretzky/LA finals +messier/NY cup with a lockout

with cost certainty, kariya doesn't hold out and hockey makes sizeable leaps globally in nagano

you are never without a national TV deal, you never have to be on the outdoor life network, and nobody ever has to worry about revenue

you probably would preempt the mass exodus of star players from small markets, and maybe the panthers effect that turned into the DPE doesn't happen

on the other hand, without that mass exodus, maybe gretzky to LA and messier to new york never happen. maybe hartford doesn't swap out francis and samuelsson for the less established and i assume cheaper cullen and zalapski and there are no mario cups. as a fan, i'm happy with those outcomes, but they wouldn't be great for growth. on the other other hand, maybe no arizona, so yay?

 

[Kevinsane]

Agreed on the no logo changes. Except maybe the original Mighty Ducks....no?

Absolutely! The current Ducks logo is second worst to only the Blue Jackets.

 

[Kinnikuniverse]

looking back, being proactive about collective bargaining and revenue sharing before the scale of professional sports skyrocketed would probably solve everything

you don't destroy your momentum following the one-two punch of a gretzky/LA finals +messier/NY cup with a lockout

with cost certainty, kariya doesn't hold out and hockey makes sizeable leaps globally in nagano

you are never without a national TV deal, you never have to be on the outdoor life network, and nobody ever has to worry about revenue

you probably would preempt the mass exodus of star players from small markets, and maybe the panthers effect that turned into the DPE doesn't happen

on the other hand, without that mass exodus, maybe gretzky to LA and messier to new york never happen. maybe hartford doesn't swap out francis and samuelsson for the less established and i assume cheaper cullen and zalapski and there are no mario cups. as a fan, i'm happy with those outcomes, but they wouldn't be great for growth. on the other other hand, maybe no arizona, so yay?

I think gretzky to LA and Messier to NY still happens in that scenario. Cause really, even with revenue sharing, do you really think Pocklington's gonna help himself? Plus, the NHL would always see Gretzky to LA as the ideal scenario

As for NY, they really needed the messier trade cause that franchise was stuck and couldn't get over the hump. Desperate times call for desperate measures

 

[greyraven8]

Some real vetting of potential owners, and not handing them out like candy to anyone with a facade of wealth, some connections, and a good line of bullshit.

For a fantasy one: Alan Eagleson vs Don King to the death cage match with the "winner" thrown into a pit of starving wild dogs.

 

[The Panther]

For a fantasy one: Alan Eagleson vs Don King to the death cage match with the "winner" thrown into a pit of starving wild dogs.

The only problem with this is the winner gets to live...

 

[Moose Head]

Some real vetting of potential owners, and not handing them out like candy to anyone with a facade of wealth, some connections, and a good line of bullshit.

For a fantasy one: Alan Eagleson vs Don King to the death cage match with the "winner" thrown into a pit of starving wild dogs.

Can we add Trump and Vince McMahon and make it a fatal 4 way?

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Everything has been well-covered. I would add:

1)Establish a parallel women's league with about 8 markets (MTL, TOR, VAN, BOS, NYR, L.A., NSH, FLA, add as owners wish) with exhibition series in potential startup towns;
2)Examine contract lengths with goal to be player movement, more parity and less consistent championship runs. ELC about 3 years, FA at age 23-25;
3)Some sort of fund to help small-market teams remain solvent.

Since the Soviet Union is still around, keep the NYE CCCP v. Habs or CCCP v. NHL game, perhaps in a best of 3 format as those were amazing.

 

[tinyzombies]

So basically turn hockey into a soft game, like today?

I just sat on the glass for a game, if you think the NHL is soft you need to go watch. They are big and incredibly fast and strong.

But, any changes made then need to take into account what men were like back then lol. Men were a LOT tougher and working class than the average NHL fan now from the looks of things at the different arenas I've been to. Totally different fanbase then. You would face MAJOR backlashes about fighting, etc. The culture was not what it is now.

 

[SwedishFire]

And you have the gift of foresight (I should I say hindsight) knowing what will transpire the next 40+ years. List 3-5 changes that you would make to the game, whether it be a rule that affects game play, franchise/team play, international play or anything of that nature or a change in free agency/roster rules that you think would be needed, would have been better for the league or a rule that was changed that didn't deserve to be.

(FYI, I picked '79 because of the merger of the WHA and that 3 out of the 4 teams joining the league that year would eventually relocate).

Making a Concussion protocol.
Wearing helmets is a rule.

Other things like red line offside may be a part of the game developement.

Give Quebec a chance to stay, while another team go to Colorado.
Expansions of teams having more years between, all expansions drafts occured like the two previous.

Salarycap earlier.

Winnipeg never moved.

Arizona was an expansion team

Keep hockey free from violence and such, but some fighting, and more bodychecks than today is legal.

 

[Nerowoy nora tolad]

Is it just me or would the Lightning have been way better branded after their Yakuza godfathers? Japanese hardened criminals who do unspeakable things to you in the back room of a Tokyo club sounds way scarier than being struck by lightning

One of the keys for me would be getting rid of (the otherwise entertaining) Bruce McNall. That would mean (a) no Gretzky trade to Los Angeles and (b) no Gary Bettman.

But seriously, I think most of the things---good and bad---that have happened in the modern era are mostly unavoidable.

But I would like the NHL expansion to have stopped at max. 24 teams. Would be so much better hockey today if so, and no silly Arizona

This is where youre out of your mind. Pretty much the entire job description for Gary (and Ziegler before him) is to attract investors and people interested in ownership to the league. Anything less than a criminal record or not having the capital you claim to have is pretty much irrelevant when you need another minority ownership stake in the coyotes filled for the fifth time

I will readily admit that Gary is reasonably good at that aspect of being the commish, he just lacks the ability to set long-term/big picture agendas for the growth of the sport.