I've got a suggestion to cure the apparent goal-scoring shortage that seems to keeping NHL general managers awake at night.
Ban goalies. Empty nets all night, every night. Guaranteed to bring ‘em out of their seats.
Let's put it to a vote. Everyone who agrees goalies should be outlawed, raise your....
Now, hold on minute guys, let's think this through. No sense in making any more hasty rule changes.
Instead of splitting hairs over every minute detail and then trying to find a solution to something that really wasn't a problem in the first place, just leave the game alone.
Please.
Through games Tuesday night, NHL games were averaging 5.4 goals per game, down from 5.8 after the same number of games last season and 6.2 two years ago.
So, in two years, teams have combined to score .8 less goals a game.
Hardly fodder for yet another facelift.
Could it be, perhaps, that coaches have learned to shut down the opposition, whether or not you choose to refer to it as the trap? Or maybe, horror of horrors, goalies have improved. Prior to last night, 30 goaltenders had a save percentage of .900 or better.
I can't understand what the big deal is. Defense is a rather important part of this game.
In football, if a receiver is making a mockery of your defense, you double-team him.
On the diamond, if a guy steps up to the plate with 50 homers on the year, you're probably going to pitch around him.
Hockey coaches, or at least most of them, are bright guys. If the object of the game is to score more goals than the other team, odds are back-room plans are being devised to shut down opposing attacks.
Scoring is down because teams have adapted to the new game. I don't need to rewrite the rule book to figure that out.
Just leave the game as it is. It's been screwed with long enough.
Instead of trivial matters, maybe the league should be concerned with things that matter. Eliminating the instigator rule to get the cheap shots out of the game, or contracting by five or six teams so we don't have to watch this watered-down version of the sport.
You know, important stuff.