Hello New York and everywhere else, you're in the Birdcage here on Hockeybird. I thought it was time to offer you some actual hockey writing. Since I couldn't find anyone else to do it, I decided to do it myself so it will have to do. Sorry. :-)

As we the fans prepare for a possible new NHL season we will also be on the lookout for the new NHL. The powers that be are convinced that they need to revamp the game to help win back fans, create new fans and in their words, improve the overall quality of the on ice product. This makes me nervous. I am what some would label a "hockey purest". I don't see it that way, I'm more of a traditionalist in my mind. Call it what you want but I'm not convinced that bigger nets or skin tight uniforms are what's needed. The following are a few of my thoughts on what the NHL needs to do in the event we do get a new CBA announced followed by an actual season.

First and foremost, they need to cut the damn deal already. Whatever the current holdup is, it needs to be solved so us die-hard fans can stop feeling foolish for our blind support of a league that abandoned us long ago. Honestly, aren't you tired of the look you get when you tell someone of your passion for NHL hockey? If the NBA can cut a deal in four days, the NHL should be able to cross any remaining T's and dot a few I's in another few days.....they've had a year or more to work out all the rest.

After a deal is accepted by both sides they absolutely MUST put on a unified face for the public. All post agreement finger pointing, whining or complaining will only further the damage. As impossible as this sounds they must make believe the lockout never happened. I have my doubts that this can be achieved but they have to try. What's done is done, let's just move forward. Although I'd love to know every detail as to how we got in this mess and what took so long, for the good of the game just let it be. Kiss and make up. C'mon Gary....you know you want too.

Next I believe they must take Jeremy Roenicks advice...well, kinda. The NHL will need to kiss the fans asses. That's right you heard me. Kiss My Ass. Lower ticket prices, lower the price on Center Ice. Hold several "Fan Appreciation" nights. Give us free stuff......whatever it is, make us feel like you really missed us. Fake it if you have too like a $500 hooker but make it seem real. Take all the PR wizards you used to spin your CBA stuff for us and have 'em come up with ways to make NHL fans feel good about being fans again. Make us feel like the very special human beings we are. I have no illusions that team owners want nothing more than to screw me out of as much money as possible....but somehow they must make me feel good about it. Hold me, kiss me....tell me how much I mean to you. Free beer?....OK, I went too far.

Promote your game and promote the damn stars of the game. Look, you don't need me to tell you how exciting it is to watch the worlds best play the best game on earth, you know that already....but there are millions who don't. I can't reach them all and it's not my freaking job anyway. Let the players call in to talk radio, show up at malls and high schools. Get the leagues best asset, it's players back in the public eye. Few if any that I know didn't like an NHL player they met. Current fans (those of us left) love meeting players and new fans will only react positively to any meet and greet. Get the players on TV, news shows, guest spots on sitcoms whatever you can but ultimately re-introduce the public the NHL players.

Don't screw up the game with gimmicks, please. OK, here's the traditionalist talking. I still dislike the designated hitter in baseball and I sure as hell don't like the shoot out in hockey. Look, if the DH was such a great idea, why hasn't the National league adopted it? OK, that's an argument for a different website....but you get my drift, right? If the NHL in their attempt to make the game better for those currently non-hockey fans makes it less fun for those that already are fans.....well, what the hell does that get them? Go ahead, tweak the game if you must, try and earn more revenue any way you can but please don't ruin the sport for us, your core base of fans. Especially now after the year of hell you put us through.

In a world where violence in video games, movies and TV generate big bucks, don't shy away from the physical aspects of the game. At the arena, everyone stands and gets excited when two players fight. I have never heard a fan use the term "barbaric" when describing a fight.....I do hear terms like awesome & intense though. It's the violent stick fouls that people get turned off by and they should. Zero tolerance for stick swinging, five minutes for fighting....perfect. Hockey is a sport of aggression, intimidation and high speed collisions.....don't change that, it's why we love it so.

Lastly, find a way to close the gap between the Canadian fan and the US fan. I'm not sure how to do this but it needs to be addressed. When I first became a fan I was quick to adopt Canada as my second home. When I began to play I looked north with envy as I knew that kids my age had already been playing since they were four years old. I still love Canada in the same way but there are many Americans who are sick of being blamed for ruining the game. They also get tired of hearing how the game belongs to Canada. Folks, the game belongs to all of us who love it so much, no matter where we hail from. The best players come from all over the world and so do the best fans. And Americans need to stop treating Canadians like some second class citizen. Because two governments don't agree on all things shouldn't get in the way of hockey fans enjoying a game.

So to sum up, show us some love. Remind us why we still care so much. Reward us for our loyalty. Don't offer us New Coke only to find out we wanted Coke Classic. Let us see the players as people and athletes but let us see them. And, let the players play the game as it has been played with all it's hits, fights, beautiful goals and heart stopping saves. Even if they hate each other's guts, show us Bettman and Goodenow holding hands like President Bush and the Saudi Prince. They don't have to kiss (in fact, please don't) but let's see them give us back our NHL and make us feel good about it.

----}- Bird

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