March 01, 2004
Scotty's Solution
In Saturday's New York Times, nine-time Stanley Cup winner Scotty Bowman talked with Stu Hackel of the Village Voice about how he would change ice hockey to add more flow and create more scoring chances. Bowman thinks removing the center red line goes too far, but favors another modification:
This might be more dramatic than some people want, but if we added a line running across the top of the face-off circles inside the zone (which is 25 feet inside the blue line) and allowed passes from north of that area to cross the red line and go anywhere in the neutral zone (that's another 60 feet to the far blue line), that would spread out the defense. Instead of defending 27 or 30 feet, they'd have to defend from the top of the circle to the far blue line. That's 85 feet. This would make it more difficult for the defensive team and could open the game up to some big passes, odd-man rushes and exciting hockey.
You can see a diagram of Bowman's proposal by clicking here. But that wasn't the only change he advocated:
I see these defensive teams do that today and, the way games are officiated, it's a good tactic. It's a reason the Devils won the Stanley Cup last spring. Martin Brodeur freezes and handles the puck very well and Coach Pat Burns is good at matching players. They'd get defensive zone face-offs, Burns would send out his top defensive center, John Madden, and the other coach often pulled his best players off. Yes, he foiled the matchup, but Burns was happy that dangerous opponents were on the bench.
The solution: stricter enforcement of Rule 79 that provides a penalty for goalies who freeze the puck outside the crease. Combined with shorter television timeouts, Bowman believes players would fatigue more quickly, creating more flow and scoring chance.
And for those who think nothing is wrong with the game, this quote from Bowman might change your mind:
I'm glad the general managers and the owners are looking for ways to open up the game. Nothing should prevent a free and open discussion on how to improve it. Because if we don't act soon, the game we love will only continue to deteriorate.
These changes seem pretty common sense to me -- and they probably deserve at least a tryout on the minor league level (though the multiple lines would create a nightmare for refs).
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"Stricter enforcement of Rule 79"??? Hell, the NHL can't even enforce the rules they have currently. Remember the promise to crack down on clutching & grabbing?
The best change that could possibly be made would be to go to Olympic-sized ice. More room = less clutching & grabbing. Yeah, I know it'll never happen. Fewer premium seats also means less ticket revenue, as well as expensive modifications to current buildings. Also, get rid of the instigator penalty and allow the players to police themselves. You'd see some great fights until the players as a whole learn to respect each other...
Posted by:
at March 1, 2004 05:38 PM
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12:03 AM