New Rules Taking Grit Out of Game

[VodkaFish]

New Rules Taking Grit Out of Game
by Brent Severyn

Thanks to Jon Porus for being a co-editor.

[Humpzilla]

That was a very interesting, and well written article! After finishing it, I kind of wished that it could have been longer. Maybe more into the lack intimidation and fighting aspect of the "New" NHL. Nevertheless, good stuff

Thanks VF.

[Skorka85]

Severyn's point coincides with what Todd Simpson wrote in his blog on the Chicago Blackhawks web site. The rules are good for flow and the back and forth creates alot of action, but the sort of unwritten rule should be to call those penalties from the hash marks out. Let the physical play come back in below the hash marks, in front of, behind the net, and in the corners. Step up the physical play there, and the passion and intensity will return again.

[CatatonicMoose]

That was a fascinating read. It's always good to get an insight from someone who has played the game at the highest level and some points in there I really agree with.

They are taking a lot of the physical play out of the game in the corners and in front of the net. This is something I hope is addressed, it's been something that has been the identity of the game and urgently needs to be rectified.

I like the point about having the tighter rules only between the hash marks and let people be punished for crashing the net.

Goalies can get run over for fun and nothing gets done about it, that needs to change.

Great article.

[HordiBrusk29]

Very good read. And it's no surprise a former player like Severyn hit the nail on the head. I just hope the league realizes this sooner rather than later for the sake of all of us.

I have been losing more and more interest in the NHL as the season goes on. It's quite scary actually. I've never ever been like this before. Without the WHL, I'd be lost....

[cowboy]

I hate to sound optimistic. but it seems like the fighting has picked up over the last two weeks or so. then again I have no numbers to back that up.

[Rusty Knuckles]

Great read for true long time hockey fans. Unfortunately the rule changes were created with the intent to market and grow the game amongst new fans.

I agree 100% that this has changed the foundations on which the NHL has carried itself on in the past. We definately need to bring back the physical play on the boards, in fornt of the net etc... I think this can be realized with the current rules with a simple tweaking of how the officials call the game. Let the guys rough it up in the corners, give the D-men a chance to play the body and start calling the dives. We need to get the heart back into our game.

Once again, great read.

[xELi]

Originally Posted by cowboy

I hate to sound optimistic. but it seems like the fighting has picked up over the last two weeks or so. then again I have no numbers to back that up.

Yeah, have been much more action the last 2 weeks. gonna see if i can back that up

[MNPuck]

I just read the article and readers' comments. I'm new to this and probably won't be posting too much, but have to say that I disagree with the title of Severyn's article and it's content except for perhaps the last paragraph. The new rules are great for the game...they're speeding things up and the flow has improved (still not enough in my opinion). Have they taken the "toughness" and "grit" out of the game? I don't think so. Tough players need to use their skill with quick, hard hits. Along the boards or in the corners...drill somebody and be done with it. To say that it's bad for the game when the league tries to put an end to grabbing, holding and obstruction is nonsense. I'm all for toughness and grit, but does cracking down on holding and interference eliminate tough, hardnosed play? It shouldn't.

Originally Posted by Rusty Knuckles

Great read for true long time hockey fans. Unfortunately the rule changes were created with the intent to market and grow the game amongst new fans.

I agree 100% that this has changed the foundations on which the NHL has carried itself on in the past. We definately need to bring back the physical play on the boards, in fornt of the net etc... I think this can be realized with the current rules with a simple tweaking of how the officials call the game. Let the guys rough it up in the corners, give the D-men a chance to play the body and start calling the dives. We need to get the heart back into our game.

Once again, great read.

[mckendo83]

There's always unforseen effects that come from change. Things are picking up though in opinion and I'd trade the boring new jersey devils style of the past 15 years for kim johnsson going end to end any day of the week. Seriously if you think about it whats better for the game, a blue line stand still trap or a break away end to end scoring chance

[HordiBrusk29]

Originally Posted by mckendo83

Seriously if you think about it whats better for the game, a blue line stand still trap or a break away end to end scoring chance

Neither one. A healthy combination of the two would do just fine. Although I would rather watch a boring trapping Devils team that will actually hit, fight and play with some emotion and intensity than watching figure skating up and down the ice.

I don't know what the hell is wrong with most hockey fans but how anybody can say that the game is so great and it's the best it has ever been is beyond me. It is quite ridiculous. The game sucks.

I used to bitch and complain about the late 90's all the way up to the 03-04 season. What I wouldn't do if we could get that hockey back over the crap we have today. What we are seeing today isn't even hockey....

[mckendo83]

So you're saying when they show the highlights of wayne gretky going end to end you'd rather have him make it to the blue line and dump it in and get hit? Come on the hitting is still there, the battles in front of the net are not as fierce as they were in previous seasons but you trade that for better talent. Hockey players in the AHL today would be in the NHL for the most part 15 or 20 years ago. The caliber of player is different. I love hitting, I played all through grade school and all through highschool didnt play much in college other than mens leagues and still play in mens leagues and hitting and taking hits is the best part, but you have to showcase your superstars for the league to succeed. Giving more ice to Gagne and Forsberg for example has resulted in the tempo of the flyers game speeding up and production is up and people that never followed hockey before know the name Simon Gagne when before if they heard Gagne they would think of the Pitcher Eric Gagne. It's better for the sport and the league because the more people that watch it and enjoy it, the more kids are going to play it and the more kids that play it the more popular it is going to be. I will go out on a limb and say people on this website over 40 don't listen to much hip hop...it's dominating music today. Kids. The more exciting the game is the more kids are going to watch it , the better off the game is going to be in the future.

[HordiBrusk29]

It is not better for the game. Regardless of what the NHL does it will NEVER be a top sport in the USA. Period.

The sooner the NHL accepts this the better off they'll be. Hockey was at it's best (popularity wise) when both goal scoring and fighting were at their peak. Right now all we have is the goal scoring. Even though the NHL is bragging and acting as though all is great right now the fact of the matter is it isn't. The Florida Panthers can't even give away free tickets. Hockey which once was huge in Boston and the New England area is pretty much dead. Nobody cares. And rightfully so.

The game I know and love has been dead for many years. And the scary thing is it's even worse today than it was in the late 90's. And I never thought that was even possible.

And the hitting is not still there. Half the time a good clean hit is called a penalty because a player falls down to the ice. The battles in front of the net are non-existant which make wimpy european players like the entire New York Rangers roster and the Sedin sisters play tough because they are allowed to stand in front of the net without taking punishment. That is not right and that certainly is not real hockey.

The NHL has a long, long way to go before the game can be made right. Problem is that idiots run this league and they've already ruined it beyond belief so there is no reason to believe that they'll be able to fix it.

[VodkaFish]

Originally Posted by HordiBrusk29

It is not better for the game. Regardless of what the NHL does it will NEVER be a top sport in the USA. Period.

Can't say I agree with you at all there. The NHL was on the verge of booming here and it can be again - and hopefully at that point, they can cross the line instead of falling backwards. If the NHL takes a "we'll never succeed" attitude, the entire league will fall into nothing. I don't want hockey to be a fringe sport.

Florida's attendance is not that bad - and don't give up on the region - across the (swamp)land on the other side of the state, the Everblades do very well in the ECHL. The problems with the Panthers are having a non-contending team for quite some time, ticket prices and a year off.

As for the state of the league, I'm thankfully in between the two of you (hordi and mckendo83). Hitting is barely there, getting to the net is too easy, just like Brent wrote in his article. Talent is definitely up - but that shouldn't mean that physical play needs to go down. Teams were scoring plenty in the early 90s - and while much of the media doesn't want to say it (yet), it was far more exciting then. Watching power play goals may mean I'm seeing more scoring, but it's not more exciting.

Leave the neutral zone as it is now - no hooking, no grabbing, no interference. Stop calling the penalties where players who are bumped along the boards flop around like a drunken seal (I can only assume a drunk seal flops around, no idea why that popped in my head).

The NHL needs to move away from numbers and back to action. Touch-up offsides and no red line have worked (I was very doubtful about the removal of the red line) - awesome, more flow; but they haven't got the penalty calls right yet. I don't care about goal numbers, I care about the game - and seeing special teams for more than half the game isn't exciting.

[HordiBrusk29]

Originally Posted by VodkaFish

Can't say I agree with you at all there. The NHL was on the verge of booming here and it can be again - and hopefully at that point, they can cross the line instead of falling backwards. If the NHL takes a "we'll never succeed" attitude, the entire league will fall into nothing. I don't want hockey to be a fringe sport.

To be honest, I don't really care if hockey is a fringe sport or not. I just want to be entertained. I want hockey to be what it once was. The game I grew up loving as a child and teenager. The game we see today is nothing like that whatsoever.

It isn't my problem that some people refuse to watch hockey because football and baseball will always be the top sports in America. It's their loss as far as I'm concerned. Maybe this sounds selfish but I am not in favor of the NHL changing their game so much to try and make the game more appealing to American fans if it means ruining the game for all the hardcore passionate fans like us. It isn't worth it.

And again I guarantee you hockey will never be a top sport in the US. And a lot of the reasons why should be obvious. And for the record, I wouldn't want the league to have that attitude and just assume that's the way it's going to be. But at the same time they do have to be realistic. What is more important? Changing the game to try and gain a few fans south of the border while at the same time turning their backs to the hardcore passionate fans that already exist across north america? Or slightly tweaking the game to try and open up more offense while keeping the physical play and fighting and try and find a happy medium which will keep the hardcore fans happy and possibly attract new fans? The obvious choice to me is the latter. And it's sad that it doesn't appear to be the choice of the powers that be.

Originally Posted by VodkaFish

Florida's attendance is not that bad - and don't give up on the region - across the (swamp)land on the other side of the state, the Everblades do very well in the ECHL. The problems with the Panthers are having a non-contending team for quite some time, ticket prices and a year off.

To my knowledge the Panthers have been giving away 4,000 tickets to anybody willing to go to a game and they haven't been able to give those tickets away. That is pretty sad. I have nothing against the Panthers or the south for that matter but that tells you right there something isn't right. And to be honest I am not surprised because I wouldn't go even if the tickets were free...

And for the first time in my life I really don't care how the Bruins do. In fact in a lot of ways I root against them now which is really sad...