Let's give credit where credit is due - Brian Burke is a clever man.
Burke's unique idea, as presented at the GM meetings this week in Florida, is to dupe the NHL into changing the rules so that teams would be assessed one-minute penalties, instead of the traditional two, in overtime.
His rationale is that 4-on-3 power plays take up 40 per cent of the five-minute overtime period and often ends the game early.
Really, what he's saying is that two minutes for elbowing would be worth less in overtime than in regulation play. Just doesn't make sense to me, but then again I don't run an NHL team, so what the hell do I know?
Ahh, but don't let Burke fool you with his plan.
He is, after all, the general manager of the most penalized team in the league.
Ironic, isn't it?
Starting to make a little more sense now.
If his lobbying gets the rule changed, his team benefits greatly.
The wily old vet is creative, I'll give him that.
I've got a different solution, provided you even subscribe to the theory that there is a problem with the current setup.
Instead of the current five-minute overtime with four players per-side, make it ten minutes of sudden-death action. Go with four skaters as it currently is for the first five minutes, blow the siren, and then go to three skaters per side in the final five minutes.
Guaranteed end-to-end action in overtime, and there certainly will be less shootouts - thank you very much.
And if a player gets called for two minutes in the sin bin, the penalty is still worth the normal two minutes (actually, if you get a penalty while playing 3-on-3, the opposition would add a player to the ice, but let's not get too technical at this point).
I'm not a fan of the shootout, but Burke's idea doesn't solve much.
Expand overtime a little, let them play a faster brand of hockey, and fans will get more bang for their buck.
As for Burke, he may want to work on a new plan to keep his players out of the penalty box more often and worry about manipulating the game a little less.