The finals for the Stanley Cup start tonight between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins. It should be a good series.As the season is almost over, it is time for some of us -- who think we know so much -- to list our ways to improve the National Hockey League game.
In no particular order is my list:
* Put goalie equipment back to its original dimensions -- like 10 inch wide goal pads, for instance. Watch a game from just 15 or 20 years ago and see how much better the goalies look. (Don't even think about making the net bigger.)
* Get rid of those ridiculous markings behind the net. Let the goal tenders play the puck again back there.
* Lose the shoot-out. This is hockey, not football (soccer).
* Let games end in ties if that is what the state of affairs is at the end of 60 minutes of play.
* Get rid of the penalties awarded to those unfortunate players who are just trying to clear the puck from their zone in a panic but end up unwittingly flying it over the glass... garnering a sometimes devastating infraction.
* Stop the fighting. You wanna raise your fists, you gonna go outta the game!
* And last but not least, make the ice surface bigger; 200 by 85 feet is too small, and has been since about 1970!
* Oh, I forgot: Eject league commissioner Gary Bettman. (He is a disease in the NHL.)
Enjoy the finals of the world's greatest team sport.
(Photo above: The great Tony Esposito in net for the Chicago Blackhawks.)
No comments:
Post a Comment