From
where I sit it looks like the NHL has the biggest rule change in years...
As
the puck drops we can all look forward to the increased safety of
every skater on the ice. With the adoption of the hybrid icing there
can still be a race for the puck, but without the needless injuries
associated with it. It's not going to be a 100% system. Yes, there
will be occasions where the forward could have won the race flat out
to the puck. But, those happen so infrequently compared to the
mindless touch-up from a bored defenseman. Not only will this speed up the game, but create more action. The whistle
will blow sooner on icing calls. All of them. Meaning there will be
an extra second or two, or three, added of actual playing time. Over
the course of a game, that will add up. There are about nine icings
in a game. That's 18 seconds by the end of the 3rd
period. That's more time for a goalmouth scramble. More time to
shoot at the open net. And importantly less time worrying about
carrying someone off the ice on a stretcher.
NHL
the season starts today so here's one line thoughts for the Canadian
teams...
Vancouver...getting
old and with new division alignment will have a harder time getting a
top seed. Edmonton...will see improvements from the kids, still
golfing in April though. Calgary...this is a bad team, not much else
to add. Winnipeg...hope springs eternal of post-season hockey, this
year they make it, and get bounced in the 1st round.
Toronto...made the playoffs last year, don't expect a repeat, they
have the same problem as the Canucks: a new division.
Ottawa...either feast or famine, with Alfredsson gone the Sens could
grow out of his shadow, or plummet from it. Montreal...probably the
best Canadian team at the start of the season and that doesn't mean a
damn thing unless they win.
Yes,
this is a Bauer ad...but it beautifully sums up the start of a new
season...
At
least that's how I see it...and I sit in the cheap seats.
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