HabsCast Hockey Blog

NHL Overcompensating for Something
(large hands … small ______ )

The implementation of the salary cap seems to have done what was promised. Today we have a league that is far more competitive and there is a chance for any team to make the playoffs. The salary cap was obviously a necessary change. Getting rid of the red line, restricting the goalies access to the puck behind the net and delayed offsides where all necessary changes. The shoot-out however was not a necessary change and I believed was implemented to appeal to American hockey fans, as is the talk of increasing the size of the nets and allowing 20 teams into the post season with the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th seeds playing in a mini-tournament. Right now, exactly which teams will make the playoffs is up in the air and the competitive aspect that the playoff race adds to the game is fantastic and the changes to the playoff system that have been proposed are ridiculous. It is purely so that more teams can continue making money heading into April. If the league were to expand and add 2 more teams, then it would be reasonable to allow 9 teams into the post-season. But at this point there is no reason why the system has to be changed and the whole idea concerning the mini tournament is very gimmicky.

Canadians have a connection to Hockey that cannot and will never be matched. It is our national sport and kids in Canada grow up with it and it becomes a huge part of their lives. In the United States, basketball, football and baseball are the sports that kids grow up with and the sports that Americans have a connection with. That means that in the United States, hockey has to compete with 3 major sports leagues. I am all for making the game as good as it can be, but this insecurity that the NHL seems to be feeling is leading to some questionable ideas. The NHL is so insecure about the product in the U.S that at times it forgets about its primary fan base, those of us who have loved the game since we were young kids getting up at 7 for practice. I also understand that the NHL is a business and with the large majority of their teams in the United States they do have to try to appeal to their markets. The way to do that is to market the game by demonstrating the best aspects of it. At the time being it seems that the best way to market this game would be with your stars, we all know who those are. Americans already now what hockey is, as someone said on the g-report. The NHL should focus on marketing and advertising the game with its talent instead of continuously changing the product. American sports are very star based which is why Crosby, Ovechkin and many other young stars are the perfect base for the NHL to market the game of hockey.

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