Changes to the NHL

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"when's it gonna be time for football and hockey?"

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Boston Red Sox
"when's it gonna be time for football and hockey?"

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Changes to the NHL

Just a random statement on another website got me thinking...

If you could change just one thing about the league right now, what would it be?

Featured by:

Jess at 6/25/08 9:59PM
FanIQ Pts? No | NHL | Closes 31 days | Multiple Choice Opinion Poll

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TOP COMMENT
#2 \| 66 days ago nyrangers (+)	+16 + a new commisioner Enter the poll to see my answer
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33 Comments \| Sorted by Most Recent First \| Red = You Disagreed
Vote for your favorite comments. Fans decide the Top Comment (3+ votes) and also hide poor quality comments (4+ votes).
#1 \| 66 days ago hskrdave (+)	+4 Need to get a Hockey Night in America on NBC. I pick Saturday. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#2 \| 66 days ago nyrangers (+)	+16 + a new commisioner Enter the poll to see my answer
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#3 \| 65 days ago HULL_17 (+)	hskrdave wrote: Need to get a Hockey Night in America on NBC. I pick Saturday. +8 No...What The Need to do is get the NHL Back On Espn And Get Rid Of Versus!! God Theier Announcers Suck!! Enter the poll to see my answer
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#4 \| 65 days ago hskrdave (+)	HULL_17 wrote: No...What The Need to do is get the NHL Back On Espn And Get Rid Of Versus!! God Theier Announcers Suck!! +3 with melrose gone, there is no one left on ESPN either. I can't effing stand ESPN anymore, pompous mf'ers who think they rule the sports world. easy to be the ruler when no else is playing. i might need to tear ESPN a new one on a blog soon. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#5 \| 65 days ago Nick S (+)	+1 Games back to ESPN2, I don't care who they have the games need to be back on that station to get this league going again. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#6 \| 63 days ago HULL_17 (+)	+1 Get Barry Thorn(e) & Bill Clemente...The Guys Who Used To Call Games Back In The Day!! Enter the poll to see my answer
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#7 \| 63 days ago danny_n94 (+)	+2 Steve Levy is good calling hockey. Who I really miss is Tom Mees he was one of the best calling puck Enter the poll to see my answer
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#8 \| 62 days ago lil_red_dev (+)	+2 I really don't like the automatic penalty when the puck is shot over the glass from your defensive zone. Maybe a penalty to cry babies,haha, the penalty box will be Crosby's new home. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#9 \| 57 days ago zilchomatic (+)	+2 I think you should add one additional selection. Fire Gary Bettman. I think that would be a good move.
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#10 \| 54 days ago irbe38 (+)	+1 Get rid of the Penalty called for knocking the puck over the glass in your own defensive zone. 9 out of 10 times it's accidental, and is often called towards the end of a game when a team is just trying to clear the puck out of their zone. It's a cheapo penalty "Get Rid Of It" Enter the poll to see my answer
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#11 \| 54 days ago mwillie1 (+)	+2 Get rid of the damn in the crease penalty unless the player is actually touching the goalie, it shouldn't be a penalty. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#12 \| 47 days ago just_smile_12 (+)	+1 I would love to see more games on National TV,,,, but that is easily cleared w/ buying the NHL package on Comcast.... so I went with LONGER SEASON!!!!..... I'm going through some serious withdrawals!!!!!!!! AND I MEAN SERIOUS!!!!!! Enter the poll to see my answer
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#13 \| 44 days ago pasta19 (+)	+2 1-new commish 2-more games on national tv 3-get rid of the stupid instigator rule Enter the poll to see my answer
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#14 \| 44 days ago danny_n94 (+)	+2 I agree they need a natl TV contract. I am not totally sold on a new commish. Its better now than having a President of the NHL and he has enabled the game to get better and stopped the escalting salaries that was gonna eventually wipe out amost all of the Canadien team. That would have been a travesty Enter the poll to see my answer
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#15 \| 34 days ago PaulAbbott (+)	+2 I would love to see hockey on ESPN or NBC, although NBC hired gorilla's to work their camera systems. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#16 \| 26 days ago ML31 (+)	Shorter season. I mean really... Do you really need 82 games to see which 14 of 30 teams DON'T make the playoffs? With a 16 team playoff, the 82 game season is a complete joke and waste of time. Regarding TV... I don't hate VS like many here seem to. I get the station and even though their annoucing teams are not that good, they still give the game a LOT of coverage. Way more than it would ever see on ESPN. I just want to see more HD games. Fortunately, there are more every year. I also have no problems with Bettemen. He had the cajones to do what Bud Selig and his gaggle of idiots didn't. Willing to sacrifice an entire season to make the game financially healthier in the long run. He oversaw a good round of expansion. The game is actually doing its best under his reign. Could it be better? Sure. As I said, the season is way too long. And while VS does treat the NHL as their #1 commodity, it is STILL not available on all cable systems. And the Finals just need to have all 7 games on the over-the-air network. This stuff about games one and 2 on cable is just dumb. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#17 \| 25 days ago kelly-beath45 (+)	+1 I LOVE THE TRONTO mAPLE LEAFS THEY ARE THE BEST
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#18 \| 25 days ago nyrangers (+)	ML31 wrote: Shorter season. I mean really... Do you really need 82 games to see which 14 of 30 teams DON'T make the playoffs? With a 16 team playoff, the 82 game season is a complete joke and waste of time. Regarding TV... I don't hate VS like many here seem to. I get the station and even though their annoucing teams are not that good, they still give the game a LOT of coverage. Way more than it would ever see on ESPN. I just want to see more HD games. Fortunately, there are more every year. I also have no problems with Bettemen. He had the cajones to do what Bud Selig and his gaggle of idiots didn't. Willing to sacrifice an entire season to make the game financially healthier in the long run. He oversaw a good round of expansion. The game is actually doing its best under his reign. Could it be better? Sure. As I said, the season is way too long. And while VS does treat the NHL as their #1 commodity, it is STILL not available on all cable systems. And the Finals just need to have all 7 games on the over-the-air network. This stuff about games one and 2 on cable is just dumb. Shorter season? You mean you want to take even more ratings and fans away from hockey? VERSUS is a terrible coverage station. Just because YOU get the station doesn't mean everyone does. How can you possibly consider a network with crappy announcing, decent coverage, and games that only half the nation sees a good station? Hockey is doing its BEST during Bettman's reign? You mean as compared to 20 years ago when hockey was on ESPN and actually considered a sport by most non-hockey fans? That also included not one, but TWO lockouts, one of which eliminated an entire season-the only professional North American sports league to do that, and made hockey even more of a joke? Moving two teams out of Canada- the Quebec Nordiques to Colorado and the Winnipeg Jets to PHOENIX an entirely dead hockey city? Moving the North Stars to Dallas and Hartford Whalers to Carolina (there are still more Whaler fans than Hurricane fans!!!)??? Completely changing the game around after the 2004-05 lockout that makes the game all about special teams rather than exciting hard-working 5 on 5 hockey? What is so exciting about games that have 15 powerplays that take up half of the game? He made the game all about the penalties and now the refs have more power than ever before. The only things saving Bettman's job right now are Crosby and Ovechkin Enter the poll to see my answer
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#19 \| 25 days ago danny_n94 (+)	nyrangers wrote: Shorter season? You mean you want to take even more ratings and fans away from hockey? VERSUS is a terrible coverage station. Just because YOU get the station doesn't mean everyone does. How can you possibly consider a network with crappy announcing, decent coverage, and games that only half the nation sees a good station? Hockey is doing its BEST during Bettman's reign? You mean as compared to 20 years ago when hockey was on ESPN and actually considered a sport by most non-hockey fans? That also included not one, but TWO lockouts, one of which eliminated an entire season-the only professional North American sports league to do that, and made hockey even more of a joke? Moving two teams out of Canada- the Quebec Nordiques to Colorado and the Winnipeg Jets to PHOENIX an entirely dead hockey city? Moving the North Stars to Dallas and Hartford Whalers to Carolina (there are still more Whaler fans than Hurricane fans!!!)??? Completely changing the game around after the 2004-05 lockout that makes the game all about special teams rather than exciting hard-working 5 on 5 hockey? What is so exciting about games that have 15 powerplays that take up half of the game? He made the game all about the penalties and now the refs have more power than ever before. The only things saving Bettman's job right now are Crosby and Ovechkin So its Bettmans fault that Quebec could not get a stadium and there attendance was falling? Same with the Jets? But have you noticed attendance is up since the lock out which also has increased revenues. I for one was tired of the clutching and grabbing. I remember the NHL in the 80's and early 90's and it was open like it is today, blame that on the greatness of the oilers and Pens to name a few. Then with the trap and crap like that it started to ruin the game. I for one will watch the NHL no matter what. But to say Bettman is whats wrong with the NHL, do some research and see what it was like before. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#20 \| 25 days ago nyrangers (+)	danny_n94 wrote: So its Bettmans fault that Quebec could not get a stadium and there attendance was falling? Same with the Jets? But have you noticed attendance is up since the lock out which also has increased revenues. I for one was tired of the clutching and grabbing. I remember the NHL in the 80's and early 90's and it was open like it is today, blame that on the greatness of the oilers and Pens to name a few. Then with the trap and crap like that it started to ruin the game. I for one will watch the NHL no matter what. But to say Bettman is whats wrong with the NHL, do some research and see what it was like before. All I know is that hockey used to be somewhat of a respected sport. No it's a complete joke Enter the poll to see my answer
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#21 \| 25 days ago danny_n94 (+)	nyrangers wrote: All I know is that hockey used to be somewhat of a respected sport. No it's a complete joke I think that is more to the fact that they dont have a Natl TV contract. Plus if you get those clowns on ESPN saying anything bad about the sport its treated as gospel. Remember it also took baseball a few years to recover from cancelling the WS. Not saying the NHL is as popular as baseball its just gonna take time. Plus the people who bash hockey dont really know the sport, or care to learn about it. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#22 \| 25 days ago ML31 (+)	nyrangers wrote: Shorter season? You mean you want to take even more ratings and fans away from hockey? VERSUS is a terrible coverage station. Just because YOU get the station doesn't mean everyone does. How can you possibly consider a network with crappy announcing, decent coverage, and games that only half the nation sees a good station? Hockey is doing its BEST during Bettman's reign? You mean as compared to 20 years ago when hockey was on ESPN and actually considered a sport by most non-hockey fans? That also included not one, but TWO lockouts, one of which eliminated an entire season-the only professional North American sports league to do that, and made hockey even more of a joke? Moving two teams out of Canada- the Quebec Nordiques to Colorado and the Winnipeg Jets to PHOENIX an entirely dead hockey city? Moving the North Stars to Dallas and Hartford Whalers to Carolina (there are still more Whaler fans than Hurricane fans!!!)??? Completely changing the game around after the 2004-05 lockout that makes the game all about special teams rather than exciting hard-working 5 on 5 hockey? What is so exciting about games that have 15 powerplays that take up half of the game? He made the game all about the penalties and now the refs have more power than ever before. The only things saving Bettman's job right now are Crosby and Ovechkin Are you saying a shorter season would mean fewer fans? Hardly. It would do nothing of the sort. But fear not. It will NEVER happen. The NHL relies on gate more than any other sport. They NEED those games. I was only commenting on the silliness of an 82 game season when more than 1/2 the teams in the league make the post season. Regarding VS... You seem to have missed the part where I said that one of the drawbacks of VS was that they were only one something like 80% of all cable systems. That is a problem. But it seems the NHL would rather make more money and be treated as #1 on VS than make next to nothing and be treated as the #5 or 6 entitiy on ESPN. Yes, the game announcers are not good. And it would be nice if they would broadcast a game from the west coast once in a while. But they do air 2 to 3 games a week. And, more importantly, they have pretty decent post season coverage. I also feel I have to remind you that ESPN didn't WANT the NHL anymore. Not even if it were free. POKER was getting better ratings than NHL games! How much coverage do you think ESPN would give the NHL if they had it? They have MLB and the NBA now. And the holy grail of TV sports in this country... The NFL. I'd like to see the NHL on ESPN as well. But it just isn't going to happen. The NHL is on VS now for the same reason it was on ESPN in the '80's. A new network looking for an established sport to make a name for themselves. Yes, the NHL is indeed doing it's best under Bettman. They have their biggest TV deal ever. They have games on network TV. Nearly all teams are on at least decent financial footing. They have a financial format in place to save them from themselves. Almost all teams are playing to at least 95% attendance. None of these things could be said for Zeigler or anyone else before. Including 20 years ago when ESPN carried the games. Teams moving doesn't make the league a joke. The Houston Oilers to Nashville? The Colts to Indianapolis? The Browns to Baltimore? The Rams to LA and then St Louis? The Cardinals to Chicago, St. Louis and then Phoenix? The Raiders to LA and then back to Oakland? I'm not a fan of teams moving. But it is not the end of the world if teams do. There are times when a team need to move on to do better. The Nords are doing far better in Denver than they ever could in Quebec. You are correct. Hartford and Minneapolis were both screwed by their owners. But at least the Cities have a replacement. All those things you mention haven't seemed to turn you off to hockey. And there are more people watching the game than ever before. I'd say that the game is better off now than it was 20 years ago. Those players are not saving Bettman. The game is bigger than any one player. This is hockey. Not basketball. One last note.... 20 years ago I didn't have a local team to cheer for. Since 1991 I have. Before the Sharks arrived, there was one rink in the South Bay. One on the penninsula that was about to go out of business. Now, San Jose has a huge ice facility (Added a 5th ice surface last year) where it is difficult to get ice time. The Redwood City rink remained in business. A new facility of multiple rinks opened in Fremont a few years ago. And, last year for the first time, hockey debued in the South Bay as an officially recognized CIF high school sport. I can't beleive any of this would have happened had the Sharks not arrived. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#23 \| 24 days ago PaulAbbott (+)	nyrangers wrote: All I know is that hockey used to be somewhat of a respected sport. No it's a complete joke It is far from a complete joke, or are you just sick in the head? Me, being from Pittsburgh, may be a little biast of course, but I have seen NHL highlights on FSN (Penguins station), ESPN, and ESPN2. Not only that, but during the end of the NHL season last year atleast 3 of the plays in SportsCenters Top 10 Plays were from hockey. The revenue the NHL is pulling is now closing in on post-lockout revenue. The new rules put in place have made the game much faster paced, which has attracted many games. One thing I really don't understand is how people say the rules of hockey are too complex for them to want to learn. Have you watched the NFL? MLB? Do you know what the difference between an illegal formation in NFL or the pine-tar regulations of the MLB? Your going to tell me its more difficult to understand a 4 minute spearing penalty than an illegal forward pass. Sorry for the mini-rant there. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#24 \| 24 days ago nyrangers (+)	PaulAbbott wrote: It is far from a complete joke, or are you just sick in the head? Me, being from Pittsburgh, may be a little biast of course, but I have seen NHL highlights on FSN (Penguins station), ESPN, and ESPN2. Not only that, but during the end of the NHL season last year atleast 3 of the plays in SportsCenters Top 10 Plays were from hockey. The revenue the NHL is pulling is now closing in on post-lockout revenue. The new rules put in place have made the game much faster paced, which has attracted many games. One thing I really don't understand is how people say the rules of hockey are too complex for them to want to learn. Have you watched the NFL? MLB? Do you know what the difference between an illegal formation in NFL or the pine-tar regulations of the MLB? Your going to tell me its more difficult to understand a 4 minute spearing penalty than an illegal forward pass. Sorry for the mini-rant there. Hockey is a joke to non-hockey fans. They have ZERO respect for the sport and you will often hear the "hockey is still a sport?" sarcastic response when hockey is brought up. It is becoming more of a joke to ESPN as they only cover a few minutes of hockey per session- they just cover the games quickly, show a few goals, skip to the shootouts if there is one, and don't talk outside of that. You probably see more cover of the Pens because of Crosby and the NHL's intent of using him to draw fans/ratings As for people claiming they don't watch hockey because they can't understand the rules, I agree that they are being ridiculous and are just refusing to give it a shot. Enter the poll to see my answer
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#25 \| 23 days ago PaulAbbott (+)	+1 Yeah like I said, with the Pittsburgh Pirates 'blowing' every year, and the Pens getting four top 1 and top 2 overall draft picks, Pittsburgh was bound to become a hockey town again. But like I said, I have heard that 'hockeys a sport?' argument ONLY from basketball fans, which I appropriately tell them it better than watching a game basketball because the only time you need to watch is the last 4minutes of the game. Enter the poll to see my answer
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