It so wonderful to read stories about the NHL that do not involve stubbornness, irrational decision making, insults, or outright stupidity. It is great to read stories about players and league personnel sitting together discussing issues in a respectful, professional manner.
This morning there was a breath of fresh air for fans of the NHL. Granted, it was a short little breath, but a fresh one nonetheless.
During yesterday's GM meeting, there were no crazy rule changes made. The new nets were present, but were not even discussed. Instead, three main issues were agreed upon. One was the size of the goalies' pads, as everyone believed that they should be made smaller. The second concept was the need to reduce obstruction fouls. In my opinion, this is probably the single most important issue that needs to be addressed.
The third concept, and probably the best, will be the formation of a competition committee, to be made up of both players and management. The committee will make recommendations on further rules changes. Now you won't have thirty different GM's trying to come up with radical ideas in one or two short meetings. You will have a group of qualified individuals who can spend as much time needed researching and discussing potential changes.
Finally, a nice job by the NHL.
Bob McKenzie at TSN writes that attitudes must change before changes in the game can be successful. Bob reiterates something I mentioned a few days ago in the middle of this storm of wacky radical ideas that were being thrown about:
"Of all the things discussed, and there were many, the one thing that will have a greater positive impact on the game than any other is simply to call more penalties, use the existing rule book and empower the officials to do their job."
With the other issues apparently behind them for now, the GMs will meet again today, this time to discuss how to operate under whatever system the league opens with next year. A new CBA, replacement players, whatever.
Speaking of replacement players, Bird has a new Birdcage up that discusses what we will do should the league decide to go in that direction.
There is a report out of Los Angeles that says the new owners of the Mighty Ducks might overhaul the franchise top to bottom. A source indicates that former Rangers GM Neil Smith will be interviewed for the Ducks' GM position. I always liked Neil when he was with the Rangers, and looking back, I wish he never left. Good luck to him.
The NCAA men's hockey tournament got under way again yesterday. The are no more Rangers prospects left, as Joey Crabb's Colorado College was knocked off by Denver 6-2. Crabb had an assist and four penalty minutes in the game. North Dakota also advanced, beating Minnesota 4-2. Denver will meet North Dakota for the championship Saturday night in Columbus, Ohio.
HDH
Posted by Jim at April 08, 2005 09:33 AMeMail this entry!
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