If you were NHL COMMISSIONER FOR A DAY

[la24philly]

If you were NHL commissioner for a day how would you improve the NHL. On every level.

[webby_s]

Get rid of the trapezoid behind the net. Man, I hate that the goalie can't go to the corners. It was a stupid idea and many TV commentators have admited to voting for it now regret it!

[sigma1914]

I'd mandate fans stop using unnecessary cap locks and incoherent sentences on most internet forums.

[webby_s]

if i were nhl commissioner for a second day: i would have the playoffs set up more like mlb, 5 games in first round, 7 in second and 7 in third, 7 in the campionship not 7, 7, 7, 7. it brings hockey to june some years (and i play year around myself) and maybe, just maybe one less round.

(notice all lower caps, annoying that way too isn't it):sure:

[la24philly]

you know if the caps bother you then dont comment on my threads OK. I COULD GIVE A RATSS ASS ABOUT HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT PEOPLE TYPING IN LOWER OR CAPS.

people have the rite to say or type or spell any way they see fit.

[trh]

1 - Implement 'no-touch' icing.
2 - Change automatic delay of game penalty to a discretionary call when the defense shoots the puck out of play (e.g. Delay of game if the ref thinks it was intentional; if he thinks it was 'accidental', no minor penalty).
3 - Reduce the size of goal tending gear. Still too big.

[webby_s]

1 - Implement 'no-touch' icing.
Ah forgot about that one!!! Please, no-touch icing. For the most part, EVERY other league has no touch icing, for a reason. To protect the players. Hockey is a tough sport but when the defensmen is only focused on the puck and the opposing player comes down and boards him, it's not pretty.

2 - Change automatic delay of game penalty to a discretionary call when the defense shoots the puck out of play (e.g. Delay of game if the ref thinks it was intentional; if he thinks it was 'accidental', no minor penalty).
Thats a tough one. That gets too subjective. Just my feelings :hurah:
3 - Reduce the size of goal tending gear. Still too big.
Again, there are too many goalies in HIGH places to fight that, do I agree, yes they are huge these days. Perfect example is Dwayne Roloson, what is he, 5 foot 3, 160lbs but when he's in net, He is just a big as the biggest goalie out there. There are just too many that would fight that tooth and nail and the NHL higher ups would cave.

But all your points are good!

(hope my sentences are coherent) :nono2:

[espnjason]

1) I would allow fights to go on for a few minutes or until one guy gets knocked down.

2) I would relocate the 2 Florida teams, Atlanta, Carolina, and Nashville to Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Kansas City, and Milwaukee. Then add two new expansion teams in Canada.

3) I'd eliminate the trapezoid like the above poster mentioned.

4) Eliminate conferences and just have divisions, which will open the possibility for a division rival Stanley Cup finals.

5) Every team plays each other at least twice.

6) Instill a 10-Minute four-on-four sudden death OT and eliminate the shootout.

[Jimmy 440]

Trivial but I'll post.

Go back to wearing white uniforms at home.I am sick of seeing a parade of white jerseys coming into Philly.I want to see the Rangers' blue,Detroits red and so on.

[Greg Bimson]

I'm tired of inconsistency. Yes, my life as a Caps fan is painful, but to waive off that goal as goalie interference without review and then later to review the waived-off goal Montreal scored seems quite, well, inconsistent. So to review some of the points brought up here...

No change to the delay of game penalty. I don't care what the intent is. That would be like changing the high sticking penalty to allow for a blade to the face if it wasn't intentional.

Nor a change to the icing rules, as the current rule does not allow a defensement to get drilled on touching up an iced puck.

The trapezoid can go, with the caveat that goalies are a little more fair game when it comes to being hit. Speaking of goalies, yes their goaltending gear can be smaller.2) I would relocate the 2 Florida teams, Atlanta, Carolina, and Nashville to Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Kansas City, and Milwaukee. Then add two new expansion teams in Canada.

4) Eliminate conferences and just have divisions, which will open the possibility for a division rival Stanley Cup finals.

5) Every team plays each other at least twice.I have often said something along these lines. So as commissioner:

Even though they are supposed to be my bosses for a day, I'd hammer the owners. They've done some pretty horrible things over the decades to protect themselves, including recently installing an owner to a troubled franchise only to have him convicted of fraud. There's a multi-billionaire that wants to own a team in Canada, and the league offices are simply towing the party line. Fifteen years ago the offices welcomed both Wayne Huizenga and Michael Eisner to the league, yet they cannot extend that same invitation to Jim Balsillie.

It is time to put up or shut up. The current commissioner has done some miracle work regarding finances for troubled teams (Tampa Bay, Phoenix), so the business aspect must be dealt with quickly.

This has to happen all at the same time:
1) reduce the length of the season to 72 games (yes, it can be compensated by raisng ticket prices for losing 5 home dates a season)
2) expand by two teams and relocate those with fan apathy
3) realign to two conferences, four eight-team divisions
4) start the season slighty later (mid to late October) and end the first week of April.

That way you play every team twice and each within your division four times.

And as to the jerseys, now that most teams have almost three versions, it's time to be a bit more creative. I was raised on the whites at home, but I know before my time it was reversed. I say with everyone having color TV's that as long as teams don't wear the same colors, anything goes.

And for the last one: Now that everyone has vacated New Years Day for sports (except for the Winter Classic), it needs to be a double-header. One in the east, one in the west/central. If that means one in the US and one in Canada, so be it. It gets great ratings. And rumors are stating it could be a centerpiece of a new, more lucrative TV contract.

[the_batman]

Eliminate the premise that over half the teams make the playoffs.(16 out of 30). Only 4 from each conference in my reign as Commissioner for a day. Make the season mean something.

I know it’s all done for money but why have 82 games if over half the teams make the playoffs? It’s like the NBA, they do the same thing.
Baseball, 30 teams, 8 in the playoffs. (Much better.)

I know, the NFL has 20 teams with 12 making the playoffs, but they play only 16 games, so they all count. Except for the Colts who took a game off.

[BobbySteelz]

Drop the trapezoid, bring back ties and get rid of shootouts and then fire Colin Campbell so we can get fair suspensions for once.

[pfp]

The trapezoid can go, with the caveat that goalies are a little more fair game when it comes to being hit.


Goalies behind the goal line should be fair game.

[epokopac]

Eliminate out of market blackouts. They are an anachronism in the 21st century. Same goes for MLB, NBA, ... .

[Koz]

1) All games are worth 3 points. 3 for a win. 2 for OT win. 1 for OT loss. 0 for regulation loss.
2) Get back on ESPN and ESPN2. I miss NHL2Nite. Much better than the minimal Versus hockey shows.
3) This one is tough. Eliminate commercials during periods. Or at least cut way back. This was one of the reasons that Olympic hockey is so awesome. If you could promise a fan that a game would last only 1.5-2 hours, you'd get a lot more fans tuning in. Replace the lost revenue with in-game on-screen ads. Maybe 1 commercial break at the 10 minute mark.

[Koz]

Oh, and while I agree with some of the realignment/ contraction talk, the Pacific Northwest might as well be the South when it comes to hockey. Very few rinks here. Very few players. The colleges don't have teams. As much as I would support it (at least when the Wings came to town) I don't think it would be financially viable. Soccer, on the other hand, is rocking here.

[jazzyd971fm]

1) All games are worth 3 points. 3 for a win. 2 for OT win. 1 for OT loss. 0 for regulation loss.
2) Get back on ESPN and ESPN2. I miss NHL2Nite. Much better than the minimal Versus hockey shows.

+1 Couldn't agree more. The NHL can have more than 1 cable/satellite tv partner. And as posted above, I would love to see the home whites come back. If that leads to white versions of the third jerseys, that's ok too.

During the playoffs, the team with the higher seeding would have the option of having the series go 2-3-2 or 2-2-1-1-1 (maybe cut down on some of the travel)

[pfp]

1) All games are worth 3 points. 3 for a win. 2 for OT win. 1 for OT loss. 0 for regulation loss.

I don't care how it's broken down but all games should be worth the same total points. This suggestion does that and therefore gets a big :up: from me.

[la24philly]

i agree with having the white jersey be the home jersey. Can someone tell me why they switched in the first place.

OK, I get marketing you want to sell the dark and alternate jersey's. I have no problem wiht picking a few dates to market new stuff.

You guys remember when White was the home jeresy and a few teams had a few dates where they dressed in an alternate.

Like bruins they had that yellow bear thing.

[Chris24]

1>I would do away with the shootout and the 5min OT.I would have 20min OT like in the playoffs.
2>I would change back the white jersey back to home games.
3>I would go back to ESPN
4>I would change the teams in the playoffs.The 1st place teams in both Conferences would go to the playoffs & the second place team in both Conferences with the most points would go to the playoffs.
5>I would maybe add teams in Quebec,Houston,San Deigo,Cleveland

[1980ws]

As Commissioner, I'd put an AHL team in the new Orlando arena. Stock it with Lightning & Panther prospects. Free parking and every home game would be dollar dog night.

Then, playoffs in the NHL are 5,5,7,7 and are over by Cinco de Mayo. Git er done. It's baseball season.

[trh]

Uniforms -- nothing in the rules says the Home team has to wear white. The teams are allowed to decide which uniform they want to wear (that's according to a statement made by the actual commissioner).

No-touch icing -- I didn't suggest that rule to protect the players; I want no-touch icing implemented to speed the game up. Watching the first round of the playoffs, I didn't see one icing call that was waved-off because the team that iced the puck beat the opposing team to the puck. So since it is almost always an icing call, call icing when the puck crosses the goal line.

Trapezoid -- just an observation. During the Olympics, there was no trapezoid rule. I didn't see the goalies going in the corners and playing the puck. Including the goalie responsible for this rule -- Brodeur (of course he only played two games).

Playoff changes/reduction: Change the format to anything less than it is now and the owners will fire you. A former Head Coach said that most teams make enough money to pay all the bills (salaries, travel, etc) during the regular season and that the playoffs are where the teams make a profit. If true, the owners aren't about to cut back on any of the playoff games (or number of teams that qualify for the playoffs).

Of course, what do I know. I picked Detroit and Washington in the finals.

[n3ntj]

I'd mandate fans stop using unnecessary cap locks and incoherent sentences on most internet forums.


"people have the rite to say or type or spell any way they see fit."

You were 100% right about the unnecessary cap locks and incoherent sentences but you forgot to mention the hideous spelling. :lol:

[Joseph]

bring back ties, eliminate shootouts, eliminate instigator penalty, let players play physical- less power play time, more canadian teams, nhl should be in winnipeg and quebec. bring back norris and patrick division, adams and smythe division , bring back tradition, eliminate gary bettman.

[djnaldo]

Get all new refs.

[la24philly]

chris 20 min OT in reg season you really going to stay up overnight for your team to win 2 pts? man I hope you have off the next day.

[la24philly]

should they rename Versus THE SIDNEY CROSBY NETWORK?

[sigma1914]

Get all new refs.

Never thought I'd see a Pitt resident say that. :lol:

[la24philly]

Could petr griffen from family guy be the nhl commish.

Which cartoon could be the best nhl commish

[Dan9]

2) I would relocate the 2 Florida teams, Atlanta, Carolina, and Nashville to Seattle, Portland, Las Vegas, Kansas City, and Milwaukee. Then add two new expansion teams in Canada.
.

Of course we have to have the obligatory "Move Carolina" post on an NHL thread! Why should we move Carolina, and what makes you think that LV, KC or Milwaukee will be any better market than Raleigh?

[bills976]

- Saturday night should be Hockey Night in America, too. No other sport really owns this time, except perhaps college football and that was only recently. Ratings for the 4 major networks are abysmal on Saturday nights anyway - hockey cannot make it worse. Get together with CBC and have a single broadcast that airs in both countries, preferably with CBC people running the show.
- Dump touch icing.
- Dump the instigator rule.
- Realign the entire conference/division system. More teams need to be in the western half of the continent to make travel more fair. A team in Seattle, one in Portland, and one in Salt Lake is a good start.
- Move any "failing" southern teams that don't end up going west (Nashville, Tampa Bay, Florida, Atlanta, Phoenix, etc) to Canada. Winnipeg and Hamilton are good choices, but it'd pain me to see a team in Hamilton since it will hurt the Sabres attendance and money-wise. Quebec City would be a good alternate.

The referees in the NHL are probably the best of the 4 major sports. MLB umps are just awful, NBA refs are crooked, and the NFL's officials are extremely inconsistent. Particularly at the top tier - McCreary and O'Halloran are probably the best officials in any sport.

[la24philly]

if vegas got a team would they becalled the jackpots

[pfp]

- Move any "failing" southern teams that don't end up going west (Nashville, Tampa Bay, Florida, Atlanta, Phoenix, etc) to Canada. Winnipeg and Hamilton are good choices, but it'd pain me to see a team in Hamilton since it will hurt the Sabres attendance and money-wise. Quebec City would be a good alternate.

:kickbutt:

[djlong]

My own thoughts..

Ties - are for sissies. Maybe you could get away with it when tickets were $2 but you play a game to establish a winner and a loser. I wouldn't want to pay $40 per ticket for something that decided - *nothing*. [Ok, so I don't pay that price because I only go to AHL games - the NHL has priced me out]

Shootouts - I agree with the way things are now. Regular season only. In the playoffs you play until someone wins.

Penalties - Instigator penalties could be good for the game if used appropriately.

Canada - Winnipeg and Quebec are good but Hamilton ON is also in line.

Named divisions - No way. "East vs West" markets a whole lot better than "Campbell vs Prince of Wales". Come on.. *Prince of Wales*??? This is HOCKEY, not cricket!

Bettman - na na na na. na na na na. Hey hey hey. good-bye.

Icing - I'll change my opinion. The arguments in favor of no-touch icing make too much sense to ignore.

[la24philly]

i would end all blackouts if your paying 179 for nhl center ice you shouldnt be blacked out and every game versus does the other games will be on center ice.

[RasputinAXP]

1a. Bettman gone.
1b. Campbell gone.

2. Make whatever concessions possible to restore the NHL to ESPN networks.

3. A lot of folks are talking moving, expansion...wrong idea. Contraction. The NHL overextended itself and diluted the talent pool by going places they didn't need to go.

First off, lose one team in each conference. Phoenix, gone. Tampa, gone. Ciao.

Let's talk movement. Places where cities appear not to give a **** about their teams include Atlanta and Nashville. Happily, they're both in the East. Let's welcome the Hamilton Predators and les Nouvelles Nordiques. Both markets will support their teams as readily as Raleigh and Anaheim do.

The complaint from the Sabres is that a Hamilton team will hurt their gate. Are you kidding me? The Rangers and the Devils play in the two closest geographical locations (even AFTER the move to Newark). You think fans of either team "switched"? Even better, we go to each others' games to cheer our boys on! Do people from Hamilton really root for the Sabres, anyway?

4. Jerseys, as mentioned above, are up to each home team. Back in the day, some teams only HAD one sweater. Rangers didn't have a white jersey until 1950.

5. No touch icing, yes. Goalie trapezoid: gone. But you're fair game if you leave the crease, just like it used to be.

[pfp]

First off, lose one team in each conference. Phoenix, gone. Tampa, gone. Ciao.


:kickbutt:

[RasputinAXP]

:kickbutt:

it only hurts for a second, like ripping off a band-aid. How do the fans in Winnipeg feel? :P

[Steveknj]

Trivial but I'll post.

Go back to wearing white uniforms at home.I am sick of seeing a parade of white jerseys coming into Philly.I want to see the Rangers' blue,Detroits red and so on.

You do realize, that until the late 70s wearing dark at home was the norm. So all they did when they went back to it, was go back to the way it always was.

[Steveknj]

My thoughts.

First, contraction. Make a rule, if your team doesn't sell out at least 75% of it's seats for 3 straight years, it is either moved or contracted. We need a strong league.

Second, and you guys will think I'm crazy, but get rid of fighting. I mean, does anyone miss these staged fights during the playoffs? Does everyone agree that the hockey in the Olympics was awesome? I'm am SOOOO tired of no talent guys in the league like Orr or Carcillo or Voros who are only there because they can fight. I don't buy this crap that if there's no fighting, people will take cheap shots at your best player. Wrong!! Throw those guys out too!! Now if you want to keep fighting, then any STAGED fight where guys are skating around and just drop the gloves should be an automatic 2 game suspension the first time, 10 the second time and a league ban the third. I could live with scrums protecting a player in the corner.

Third, no games ending in a skills competition. I'm all for 5 on 5 OT for 10 minutes and after that a tie. And fine if they want to get one point to the loser.

Keep touch icing, because many times a team can negate an icing with hustle. Seriously, do more than 2 guys a SEASON get hurt trying to touch an icing? Probably not even that many. Overblown.

Playoff format is fine. Maybe 5 home games for a division winner in the first round.

I would agree to get hockey off Vs. But ESPN might not be the best choice either. Even when they HAD hockey it was treated like a 7th tier sport. Find a good national network to take hockey. Years ago it was on USA, perhaps them. Or, if Comcast can do something good with Universal Sports, that would be good. Hockey doesn't belong on the same network as bull riding and ultimate fighting. It's a different audience.

[pfp]

it only hurts for a second, like ripping off a band-aid. How do the fans in Winnipeg feel? :P

I absolutely don't question that and if we do end up loosing them I really hope it's for a return to Winnipeg rather than anywhere else.

[espnjason]

Of course we have to have the obligatory "Move Carolina" post on an NHL thread! Why should we move Carolina, and what makes you think that LV, KC or Milwaukee will be any better market than Raleigh?

I've disagreed with Carolina getting an NHL team ever since the Hartford Whalers moved there in '97. Carolina, like Tennessee, lives and breathes NASCAR and College Football and Basketball, which I don't object. But one would think hockey is foreign in those areas, and in many respects it is.

Case in point, when the Panthers went to the Stanley Cup finals in '96 and the Lightning won the Cup in '04, their prominence came and went like a bad fashion trend. Same can be said for the 'Canes in '06.

Now to answer your question.

Kansas City has a new arena that is ready to go, and can be a natural rival for St. Louis, Dallas, and Colorado.

Milwaukee, I consider to be a natural hockey market with the cold weather and the proximity to Chicago, Minneapolis, and Detroit. I am still puzzled why they don't have one and yet, has an NBA team.

As for Las Vegas, well, since I live in Vegas I am an advocate for having any team here. Plus it will fit the bill of cities out west having more teams. Besides, I think Vegas would be a better fit in the pacific division with Phoenix, San Jose, LA and Anaheim.

[pfp]

As for Las Vegas, well, since I live in Vegas I am an advocate for having any team here. Plus it will fit the bill of cities out west having more teams. Besides, I think Vegas would be a better fit in the pacific division with Phoenix, San Jose, LA and Anaheim.

Agreed. How in the world Dallas got in a division called "Pacific" is beyond me but I suppose when Detroit is in the "Western" conference anything is possible.

Not that I don't want Vegas to have a team (Well actually I don't if said team used to be ours :)) but of all the things people have bad to say about Phoenix and hockey it would seem most also apply to Vegas.

[Dan9]

How are the 'Canes trending in the opposite direction exactly?? Their attendance averaged 15,240 fans, how is that bad for a team that stunk this season??

Link: http://espn.go.com/nhl/attendance

[Greg Bimson]

First, contraction. Make a rule, if your team doesn't sell out at least 75% of it's seats for 3 straight years, it is either moved or contracted. We need a strong league.I could be wrong on this, but I don't believe so...

You realize if that standard was applied at any time during this decade, the Blackhawks would have been gone?

The reality of the situation is that some franchises are run into the ground, and they pay for it at the gate. Heck, the NHL has had its' share of shady characters.Milwaukee, I consider to be a natural hockey market with the cold weather and the proximity to Chicago, Minneapolis, and Detroit. I am still puzzled why they don't have one and yet, has an NBA team.I believe Milwaukee is 97 miles from Chicago. So, during the 1991 expansion drive Milwaukee was considered, but the owners didn't want to pay $50 million to the NHL and ANOTHER $50 MILLION to Dollar Bill Wirtz, owner of the Chicago Blackhawks for territorial indemnification. This is the same Dollar Bill Wirtz that when the NHL had to expand from six to twelve back in 1967 to continue receiving their national TV contract made sure St. Louis received an NHL team because they wanted to rid themselves of a property his family owned: the St. Louis arena. Yes, the expansion franchise was awarded to St. Louis without an ownership group in place.I would agree to get hockey off Vs. But ESPN might not be the best choice either. Even when they HAD hockey it was treated like a 7th tier sport. Find a good national network to take hockey.And therein lies the problem. Too many people forget that the good old days of ESPN was when hockey was the only pro sport on it; ESPN targeted the NFL (few games a year) and MLB. When they also received the NBA, the NHL was done on ESPN. The NHL was gone from ESPN as progress...

No offense, but I'm sick of the "retrenchment" camp I see here. Contract. Relocate back to Canada. All in the name of not "progress", but regression. Realize that there are business aspects here that must be addressed.

When the expansion craze started back in '90 with the Sharks, there were hardly any eastern Europeans in the league. Yes, going from 21 to 30 teams in the span of about a decade may have been a bit much, but to state the talent was diluted by expansion ignores the reality that the talent pool became much bigger with the death of the Iron Curtain. I'd argue when the Devils won their cup in the mid-90's that their neutral-zone trap was the cause of mediocre hockey.

The list of teams that could relocate?

Phoenix, no need for details only because the lease can be terminated almost immediately.

NY Islanders, because it is the only franchise that has Gary Bettman's blessing to move. No funding from Nassau County to fix the Coliseum, no need to have a tennant.

Nashville, but only until the 2012 season, as I'm pretty sure they've reupped until then.

Atlanta, because the ownership group owns the Philips Center and the NBA Hawks, and I don't know if they have the hockey aptitude to continue running an NHL franchise. I admit the hiring of Rick Dudley is a bold, positive step.

[Steveknj]

I could be wrong on this, but I don't believe so...

You realize if that standard was applied at any time during this decade, the Blackhawks would have been gone?

The reality of the situation is that some franchises are run into the ground, and they pay for it at the gate. Heck, the NHL has had its' share of shady characters.I believe Milwaukee is 97 miles from Chicago. So, during the 1991 expansion drive Milwaukee was considered, but the owners didn't want to pay $50 million to the NHL and ANOTHER $50 MILLION to Dollar Bill Wirtz, owner of the Chicago Blackhawks for territorial indemnification. This is the same Dollar Bill Wirtz that when the NHL had to expand from six to twelve back in 1967 to continue receiving their national TV contract made sure St. Louis received an NHL team because they wanted to rid themselves of a property his family owned: the St. Louis arena. Yes, the expansion franchise was awarded to St. Louis without an ownership group in place.And therein lies the problem. Too many people forget that the good old days of ESPN was when hockey was the only pro sport on it; ESPN targeted the NFL (few games a year) and MLB. When they also received the NBA, the NHL was done on ESPN. The NHL was gone from ESPN as progress...

No offense, but I'm sick of the "retrenchment" camp I see here. Contract. Relocate back to Canada. All in the name of not "progress", but regression. Realize that there are business aspects here that must be addressed.

When the expansion craze started back in '90 with the Sharks, there were hardly any eastern Europeans in the league. Yes, going from 21 to 30 teams in the span of about a decade may have been a bit much, but to state the talent was diluted by expansion ignores the reality that the talent pool became much bigger with the death of the Iron Curtain. I'd argue when the Devils won their cup in the mid-90's that their neutral-zone trap was the cause of mediocre hockey.

The list of teams that could relocate?

Phoenix, no need for details only because the lease can be terminated almost immediately.

NY Islanders, because it is the only franchise that has Gary Bettman's blessing to move. No funding from Nassau County to fix the Coliseum, no need to have a tennant.

Nashville, but only until the 2012 season, as I'm pretty sure they've reupped until then.

Atlanta, because the ownership group owns the Philips Center and the NBA Hawks, and I don't know if they have the hockey aptitude to continue running an NHL franchise. I admit the hiring of Rick Dudley is a bold, positive step.

On your first point about the Blackhawks, so? If the fans can't support the team and ownership is either too cheap or too stupid to fix the situation, then they deserve to move or be contracted. It would not be the first time a storied franchise has ever been moved in sports, and it certainly won't be the last.

I agree about some southern teams and warm weather teams should not have teams, if they can't support them. See, I think Carolina has taken to the 'Canes. Plus there's a lot of people from the Northeast moving there and a lot of northern students go to Duke, NC, et al. The support seems to be there. You could say the same for South Florida, but I don't think the elderly population has the disposable income to support the team. Nashville? Just not enough interest, and no transplanted fan base. Atlanta, similar to Nashville, plus they've already failed once. Phoenix, I just think has been poorly managed, and the area is now depressed. The cities mentioned, Vegas? Forgetting the gambling aspect, it's another city with financial woes for their natives, and tourists aren't going to hockey games. San Diego, too close to LA and Anaheim. Milwaukee, same problem as San Diego, plus territorial rights.

[Steveknj]

Oh, and on ESPN, they want nothing to do with the NHL unless they can get a deal like NBC, no rights fees and share the profits on everything else. They already have a pretty full plate right now between NFL, MLB and NBA, and all the college sports, golf, tennis, etc. You may all reminisce about the good old days on ESPN, but it ain't coming back. Vs. is probably the best of a bad situation, but they should be out there selling this to TBS, USA (they've already got the relationship with NBC, this could be a match that makes sense, and when Comcast finishes the deal, maybe there will be some changes).

[DoyleS]

I'd eliminate all blackouts once the playoffs begin. Couldn't believe that Dish/Vs had the final Sharks/Wings game blacked out in the Bay Area. Local friends with Cable had the game on Vs with no problems.

[hookemfins]

Get rid of the trapezoid behind the goals
Loose the shootout
No points for an OT loss. 2 points for a regulation win and 2 points for OT win.
My final move at 11:59pm would ban Gary Bettman from ever reclaiming his position as commissioner.

Now espenjason says: Case in point, when the Panthers went to the Stanley Cup finals in '96 and the Lightning won the Cup in '04, their prominence came and went like a bad fashion trend.

In Florida's case its just bad GMs that have done us in, there is a very good fan base here. What killed the Panthers after '96 was size queen Brian Murray trading Stu Barnes for that god awful Christina Wells. Since 2000 a series of bad, horrible moves.

You can forget about getting a team in Las Vegas. I don't think any owner of any league will agree to with sports books out there. I think if you were to get a team it would be an NBA but that is a low possibility.

[1kyardstare]

1) Allow goalies to handle the puck (no trapezoid)
2) Keep goalie equipment the same size
3) Want olympic style hockey? Make all rinks 100 x 200
4) No touch Icing
5) Reduce regular season games to 65 or 70
6) Get rid of the instigator penalty
7) Mandate face shields
8) Play until there is a winner no more ties
9) Institute floating Blue Line (i.e. used for off-sides but once in the zone Red Line becomes the blue line) makes for a bigger offensive zone.
10) Three face off circles (alligned along the middle of the ice) makes face offs more important and increase chance of scoring off face offs.

More offense, skating, and accountability. Bring it on eh.

[purtman]

Boy,
There are lots of good points here. Great job, folks. Here are my thoughts:
1. Eliminate Bettman and Campbell. Bettman was talking about some of the all-time greats in the NHL, going back to "Ace" Bailey, the father. Then he mentioned that he died in 9/11. Bettman didn't even know it was the son. He needs to appreciate the tradition and history of the game if he's to be the commissioner. Campbell's punishments are ridiculous and unfair. How does Ovechkin get two games for his hit on Brian Campbell yet Matt Cooke's cheap shot on Savard not even get two minutes?
2. Get a better TV contract. Since the NHL has "Hockey Night in Canada", a "Hockey Night in America" would also be great. It could pair up with the Canada version for a double-header. Once the NFL season ends in late December, have the American version on Sunday nights. Get back on ESPN. That would be big. Also, get off NBC. This possibility of having a game shortened to watch a horse race is absurd.
3. I didn't like the no-touch icing, but after seeing it in the Olympics, I'm for it.
4. Three points per game is important. All games should mean the same. It also gives a little more inspiration.
5. Much better marketing. The Stanley Cup Playoffs commercials the last two years have been great. However, I've only seen them on Versus and the NHL Network. Put it on other networks, especially ESPN.
6. Somebody also mentioned playing teams a minimum of two games per year. I'm a Bruins' fan living in Iowa. I couldn't make their games in Minnesota or St. Louis this past year. I'll have to wait two years to see them now.
Just my own thoughts.

[DF Wavelength]

Start & end the playoffs a month before the NBA does, so the NHL is not competing with the NBA for playoff coverage.

If they started a month earlier, the media will have room to cover the NHL, without being bombarded by NBA, MLB, NFL Draft.....
Also, when the NBA rolls into their quarterfinals, the NHL could be raising the Stanley Cup, eating up the media attention.

Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals (Hawks vs Sharks) was on opposite Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals (Magic vs Celtics).

I wonder who got better ratings.....



Also, for all the Versus haters, do you really believe ESPN could rival the coverage NHL gets on Versus?
Do you really think ESPN will play 2 or 3 playoff games a night, 7 days a week?
No.
Granted, ESPN is THE sports media super giant, but ESPN hates hockey. They will still only give it about 5% of the coverage that they dedicate to NCAA Basketball.
Versus may not be your favorite channel, and their commentary is lacking.
But no other television network would be willing to give the NHL as much air time as Versus does.

[purtman]

Also, for all the Versus haters, do you really believe ESPN could rival the coverage NHL gets on Versus?
Do you really think ESPN will play 2 or 3 playoff games a night, 7 days a week?
No.
Granted, ESPN is THE sports media super giant, but ESPN hates hockey. They will still only give it about 5% of the coverage that they dedicate to NCAA Basketball.
Versus may not be your favorite channel, and their commentary is lacking.
But no other television network would be willing to give the NHL as much air time as Versus does.

It's not so much that I'm a Versus "hater", but I don't think Versus has the exposure or lead-in that ESPN would bring. The other shows that Versus offers are not mainstream and don't lead in to the games. ESPN can lead in to an NBA game with Sportscenter or some other show that people would watch, keeping them on the air. I'd love to see those Stanley Cup Playoff commercials aired on ESPN. That would certainly bring up people's interests. I love the "What if Bobby didn't fly" or the "what is Stevie Y didn't inspire hockeytown" commercials. Last year's collage of annual Stanley Cup winners was just awesome.

Also, ESPN has a much higher subscription rate than Versus. That's another big issue.