Admit it, you're an armchair GM. You watch trades materialize and think to yourself, "How hard could this be? The team needs grit. Why sign Zdeno Ciger?"

But this year's playoffs should change your perspective because it illustrates how difficult it is to construct a team with a buffoon like Colin Campbell masquerading as an intellectual league executive.

Good League Management is Proactive

Good sports leagues are proactive. They find a problem and deal with it quickly, with precision, without ambiguity and with finality.

The NFL had a problem with quarterback injuries; Tagliabue quickly instituted rules where inappropriate contact was penalized. Even marginal calls were enforced, and the result was practically instant. Fans got to watch the quarterbacks they came to see.

The NBA had a problem with bench-clearing altercations; Stern enforced a rule where anyone leaving the bench was suspended. It was a major factor in a Knick-Heat playoff series, but players learned and the NBA's fan-friendly image was kept intact. The same problem-solution formula happened with the league's flagrant foul rule, so fans could see their favorite players on the court and not on the sidelines.

The NHL? Baaa-hahahahahaha! ... Sorry, let me be more specific.

Inmates Run the Asylum

We've already written about Colin Campbell's anti-Ranger bias. But more importantly for the league, he's set no discernible system of conduct and the result allows aggressive players and team managers to set their own rules.

Toronto picked up on it immediately. Their GM had built their team around a
physical style of play so they aggressively defined their style as 'old-time' hockey. They practically dared the league or the refs to contradict their interpretation, and it worked for them as their physical style was permitted in the first couple of games.

Then Milbury picked up the dynamic, and attacked the non-calls by the referees. Colin Campbell called Mad Mike's diatribe 'inappropriate,' but the result was an immediate boon to the Isles as a plethora of calls were made.

The End Result Was Inevitable

When intellectually challenged men like Mike Milbury and Pat Quinn can manipulate the system, the writing is on the wall. Or perhaps it's peed in the snow. But you get the point.

Colin Campbell, representing the league, was weak and limp-wristed. In return, players don't view the league as the authoritative voice like the NBA or the NFL. This heightens the combative spirit between NHL playoff teams, where it becomes a kill-or-be-killed scenario. Place hockey players in this WWF-style environment, where the refereeing is comical and the league itself is inept, and the machiavellian result is a foregone conclusion. Star players are taken out, retaliation perpetuates the violence, and the league tumbles out of control.

A Reactive League

Oh, but wait, here's come our knight in shining armor, Colin Campbell. He chooses to suspend Kyle McLaren for the rest of the Montreal series. Chuckle - nothing like simply avoiding an issue, eh? Just keep him away from the Montreal press and fans for a couple of games and hope the issue goes away. Brilliant.

Why exactly did McLaren merit a suspension, you might ask? Um, perhaps intense media attention can pass for legitimacy in today's NHL. Whatever you do, don't look at Campbell's statement of a hit to the head and causing injury as having any worth. If you do, you haven't been paying any attention to his record of suspensions over the past season.

It'll Get Worse

And don't assume that the league will deal well with the mess Colin Campbell has created. There are a few issues coming up that will pile even more things on the league's plate.

The collective bargaining agreement expires in 2004, and the NHLPA is instructing players to prepare for a lengthy work stoppage. You likely know about that.

But did you know that the ratings for the ESPN hockey broadcasts are down by 17%? Even worse, the coveted 18-34 male demographic has declined by 38% on ESPN and 41% on ESPN2, despite regular prime time slots. That's a five-year, $600 million deal that expires in ... 2004.

Were You Taking Notes?

OK quick recap: the league will undoubtedly install new rules this summer in response to the declining tv ratings and the negative publicity in the playoffs. But with Colin Campbell at the helm of Operations, it's impossible to decipher which rules will actually be implemented.

Remember when we traded Sergei Zubov because Neil Smith believed the league when told obstruction penalties would be called? This is worse.

...OK, Now Play GM...

Want to sign an unrestricted free agent like Holik, Guerin, or Kaspairitis. Well, they'll be seeking lockout-protected contracts. And before you quickly conclude this to be as vital as Teddy Green to our penalty kill, know that a maverick GM who thumbs his nose at other teams as we near the lockout might suffer league-wide repercussions. Then again, it might be nothing. Good luck predicting which one.

Now study the rules that the NHL will create over the summer to 'help' the game. Now guess which rules will actually be enforced. Now guess which rules will be enforced throughout the entire season and playoffs. Now build the roster around that assumption.

Will the league protect Eric Lindros and his head injuries? Do you believe them? Who do you place on his wing to protect your investment?

Penciling in Dale Purinton and Tomas Kloucek (as you should)? Remember that Campbell suspended Dale seven games for a cross check that resulted in no injury. Can he be successful with that attention? What about Kloucek? What about ANY young player that plays an aggressive game in a Ranger uniform?

Do you stick with forwards Mikael Samuelsson, Andreas Johansson and Rem
Murray as depth forwards? Yes, they have some talent, but envisioning them against the tougher Tie Domi, Shane Corson, Darcy Tucker, et al, is enough to make one cringe.

Not As Easy As You Thought, eh?

Yes, the playoffs are making an impact on the Rangers off-season. A roster needs to be based on a team philosophy, and Colin Campbell refuses to allow
teams to trust the league's rules and punishment. The playoffs have merely
exacerbated the point.

-Gabe

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