Hockey Rule Changes, NHL Salary Cap Agreement, New Image

With all the talk of hockey rule changes, the salary cap coming into play and the need to have a new image, I think I have the perfect answer. What the NHL should adopt is the use of a shinny puck (aka sponge puck). This would improve the image of hockey as the use of helmets could then be removed. Also, the screens at the end of the rinks could be removed as a shinny puck will not be as injurious as a traditional puck. This would also allow the goalies to use the smaller equipment without worry of injury.

On the serious side, what is the deal with needing more scoring in the NHL. I understand that the trap is bad as it makes for what people consider unentertaining hockey. Why not simply legislate against the trap? Allow only so many players per team in the neutral zone at a time and do away with offsides completely. If you can only have 3 players in the neutral zone at a time, the defensemen will have to play deeper in their own zone in order to allow the forwards not to be trapped in the offensive zone. This opens up a greater area for the team being pressed offensively to move the puck up. Doing away with offsides would allow the defense to put the puck back into the zone even if it crossed the blue line, which means that teams would carry the puck or pass the puck out of the zone, but would not just dump it to center ice in order to relieve pressure. Another element of this could be that the offsides are off until the puck is brought back past your own blue line (presumably by the opposing team), but once it is, the offsides are on (so there would not be cherry picking).

One the other side of the coin regarding a defensive style game, I do not think that a 1-0 or a 2-1 game is a bad thing. The goals mean more in a close game like that. Soccer games which are longer in time, and have less speed over a larger surface, are well attended and have low scores. Do hockey games need to have scores like baseball, football or basketball games in order to be exciting? Not to me. I was brought up watching hockey and have played a few games myself. I can appreciate the defensive aspect of the game. Other elements of the game can take on more of the excitement that is needed ... the hitting, the nice playmaking, and gasp ... dare I say it ... the fighting.

I will watch whatever form that the NHL takes when it comes back. I will not watch some patchwork league, whether it be the WHL or the league being proposed by Rugy Giuliani and others. I would watch replacement players ... I cheer for my team no matter who is on that team ... and I buy apparel that has the team name on it rather than a player name.