Nothing needs to change – hockey is fine the way it is

I’m dropping my gloves.

You may throw me in the penalty box for five minutes or even give… I’m dropping my gloves.

You may throw me in the penalty box for five minutes or even give me a game misconduct, but it must be done.

I’m fighting for hockey.

Hockey is an amazing game and this past weekend featured the 54th NHL All-Star game. Even though it wasn’t as exciting as last year’s shootout, it was still a great game.

On Tuesday, all 30 general managers met to see if they could come up with ways to “fix the game.”

What did these 30 geniuses come up with?

First of all, they want to make it illegal for goalies to touch the puck after it passes the back-end red line, which means behind the net. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said that they are looking at making it a two-minute penalty if the goalie breaks this rule.

The GMs also said they would like to cut down the size of goalie pads from 12 inches to 10.

What else was on their list of possibilities?

They had ideas like three points in the standings for a victory instead of the current two points and a two-point award to a team who wins in overtime or in a shootout.

Also in the running was the reinstatement of tag-up offsides. This allows someone who is offsides to go out and re-enter the zone without a whistle blowing.

An outrageous suggestion was for teams to be allowed to have a power play for the full two minutes, even if they score – it would be like a five-minute major, where the penalized player has to stay in the box no matter what.

Why is Bettman doing this?

Because scoring is down and so is fan support. Only diehards and Canadians are finding the game entertaining to watch and Bettman is doing what he thinks is best to make the game more “watchable.”

But one question remains: Will it work?

Not exactly. I do think the game would be better off with a shootout to decide overtime and get rid of ties, but other than that, there is no need for change.

Bettman is under the impression that it takes scoring to make hockey exciting, but that is not what this game is all about. There are so many other little things that make hockey one of the best sports out there, such as hitting, great moves, great shots and great saves.

Hockey fans don’t just cheer when a goal is scored. Hockey fans are much like the players on the ice; they keep going, whether applauding a great play or a hard, exhilarating, hit or even just chanting an opposing goaltender’s last name to get into his head.

So what needs to be done?

The rules should stay the same. The only problem needing attention is the financial disparity between different NHL markets. It’s the same problem Major League Baseball needs to deal with. There are powerhouses with money, like the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers. And then there are the great sports towns that cannot compete financially, like Pittsburgh.

The NHL needs to follow the example of the NFL, so that small markets can be competitive, too. They need to bring hope to these small markets in order to get more people interested in the game. Once the NHL does this, fan support will grow because small markets – like Pittsburgh, whose home attendance has dropped for six straight years – will have a chance to contend and then people will head to the arena to see their home team.

Well, I’ve made my argument for hockey. We’ll just see if the players fight as hard as they do on the ice to keep the game the way it is.

Jimmy Johnson is a staff writer for The Pitt News and if it weren’t for hockey, Canada would just be good for its Molson and Labatt’s Blue products.