I realize that attendence figures are the only data we can probably get, but is there any way to find out what each team’s ticket revenue is? Each week the entertainment press tells us what the top 5 movie gross incmes were. I wonder what NHL teams’ gross ticket revenue was.
Absolutely 100% correct.
All this other crap is typical NHL idiocy. I swear that if Gary Bettman’s house was on fire, he’d call a veterinarian.
The problem with the NHL is not the number of goals, it’s the lack of quality play. And the lack of quality play is primarily a result of two things:
- The rule against hooking is no longer enforced, and
- The rule against holding is no longer enforced.
At the rate things are going, within five years you’ll be able to add:
- The rule against cross checking will no longer be enforced.
Hooking and holding were originally against the rule for a very clear reason; if you allow them, thuggery and wrestling will tend to dominate over skating and passing. Since the NHL started reducing adherence to these rules, the predictable result has been the dominance of thuggery and wrestling. Twenty years ago, if an NHL player got two steps past a defenseman, the defenseman was beaten, period, and the player got a rush on net. If the defensemen were to hook or hold to try to stop it, he would get a penalty. Now, the hook is almost invariably allowed, UNLESS the forward falls down AND it’s the defenceman’s team’s turn to get a penalty. Holding is essentially always allowed, again, except once or twice a game a holding call will be arbitrarily assessed if it’s about time for that team to get a penalty and there’s no other obvious call. I wish I was exaggerating but I’m not.
If you want to improve the NHL game, just reinstate those rules and watch the game open up. none of the other solutions will work:
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Eliminating the red line will take defencemen out of offense, making backchecking easier, and reducing pressure at the points. Scoring would go down, not up, and the change to the flow of the game would be minimal it wouldn’t overcome hooking and holding. It’s also simply irrelevant if hooking is permitted, to slow down a rush, you just hook.
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Changing the size of the goal will allow more GOALS, but only because more shots will find net. It won’t make the flow of the game any more exciting, because it’ll still be a wrestling match; it will also encourage an endless barrage of point shots, will will become much higher percentage shots.
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The usual saw that the quality of play has dropped because of expansion is not a convincing one. At the same time that the NHL has expanded from 21 to 30 teams, the availability of Russian players and better scouting of European talent has made up much of the difference.
It’s true the talent is SOMEWHAT thinned, but why would you think that reduces scoring? If less talent = less scoring, why aren’t all NCAA hockey games 0-0 ties?
Leaving our my gripe about how these fools (the league and the players) are going to kill this game…
The reason that scoring is down over the last few decades is because goaltenders have gotten better at their skill. (improvements in equipment has some, but not nearly as much) I’m a goaltender, have been for 10 years. I am also an avid historian of hockey, and goaltenders specifically.
The first goaltenders didn’t wear masks, and simply played a standup style. Goaltenders have become much more active, and focus much more on their skill. I have multiple books on goaltending, an entire series of magazines in goaltender self improvement, and have worked with a few coaches. Active play, paying attention to the angles, the butterfly…I could go on for hours. The truly brilliant goaltenders just make it look easy (Roy, Broduer)
I do believe that the size of the leg pads can be taken back to 10"…the pads are for protection, not taking space. Active policing of the size of the rest of the goal pads is necessary too.
Taking out the red line may help, getting rid of the two line pass. The increase of space behind the goal can help too. Opening the ice size to meet international specifications would help too, allowing more space for the skill players to play. Making the goal larger just to spite goaltenders getting better is the wrong answer.
I agree with the posts about enforcement of the rules too. The argument (which I don’t understand) is that power plays slow the game down. Uh. Ok. You say so. If you ask me, watching a well run PP or PK is a thing of beauty. Plus if you give up enough PPGs, it’ll cost you enough games and make you rethink your defensive coaching strategy.
I have to address this. The NHL did increase the space behind the net and one of the players they thought it would help (The Great One) was the most vocal against it. It takes the player away from a position where he can drive the net in a quick stride or two and relegates him to a pass only situation. Thus, there is no reason for defenders to try and flush him out and can clog up the slot instead.
Thanks for all the responses.
I wasn’t sure if I was going to get carried away or not 
And one of my backups in junior was a goalie like that. He stopped the first shot but If he left a rebound, he was dead in the water. We needed to clear the zone in order for him to get back to his feet. It was terrible to watch.
The biggest impediment to contraction is not the NHL, but the NHLPA that really does not want to see 25 jobs per team contracted away.
Oh now let’s not forget the owner that doesn’t want to lose his potential profit.
Both sides have an interest in keeping all of the teams. The question is whether keeping the crap teams is worth the overall loss of entertainment value by putting out a shyte game.
The NHL still exists? I thought we sent hockey back to Canada! 
It must have been lost in the mail 'cause we’re still waiting for it.
Proponents of this theory greatly underestimate the size of the goal. Even a 700 lb man is not going to be six feet wide. I know there was a recent TV commercial showing this, but they cheated and used a tiny goal. Even if you could get a big fella to cover most of the goal, if he’s not quick enough to cover the corners, NHLers would pick him apart.
To get a feel for the size of the goal, put some tape on the wall in the shape of a 6ft x 4ft rectangle. Then stand in front of it. You won’t believe how big it is.
Pash
Thank you for enlightening me on this subject. Out of curiosity, is there a regulation on the size of the pads or on wearing stuffing in the jersey? I was just curious if they got that detailed to avoid someone coming out there with 3 foot pads.
The league, in agreement with the players association, determine the size and types of equipment that are worn by all players not just the goalies.
Also, the league had shown a few varities of enlarged nets yesterday - can anybody find some pictures of them?
Leg pads can be no more than 12 inches wide although the proposed rule changes will bring that back to 10 inches, which was the max allowed up until the mid 80’s.
No restrictions on chest/arm pad (aka monkey-suit) sizes (e.g. J.S.Giguere) or Jersey sizes (e.g. Patrick Roy wearing a tent and having the seams under his arms resewn and reenforced in order to catch pucks that may have found a hole).
Here’s one: although you don’t get the real scale of how ridiculous this is until someone is standing in it in equipment. There was a picture of a goalie in the net in the Calgary Herald yesterday and in full crouch, there was a 6 inch space above his head and gigantic holes in the corners. I know where I’d be aiming at.
The biggest problem with this idea can be demonstrated by looking at another sport, lacrosse. Functionally similar to hockey in a lot of ways, scoring is usually on the order of about 20-25 goals per game or more with a comparably sized net. the fact that there are a ton of goals scored doesn’t make it exciting, it’s the plays leading to the goals that do, and a 10 or 15 goal lacrosse game would be just as exciting. These nets are going to lead to 12-8 hockey game that will be as boring as spit.
This is the one I was talking about.
Just for reference, this thread is the latest thread on the “800-pound goalie” topic.
Use the same goal size of a soccer net & call it hooker - it’s all about the money anyway.