The Puck Stops Here

In general, I don't care how high the score is in the NHL. I have been very happy watching high scoring games. I have been very happy watching low scoring games. Given only the score in a game, there is no way to tell if it was a good game or not.

The idea that tight checking hockey is somehow bad and something (even something stupid) must be done to make the scores in hockey games go up is a crazy idea in my opinion. I've watched some great games starring tight checking teams like the New Jersey Devils over the years. For example, their Stanley Cup final in 2003 against Anaheim was very exciting. Last year was a good year for hockey. I watched countless very good games. However, the NHL cannot admit to that because they were trying very hard to sell that the game is broken and needed fixing (does a lockout fix anything?). There has been an anti-marketing campaign by the NHL higher ups to sell how bad the league is in order to sell the lockout.

At some point, Gary Bettman and his ilk decided that sun belt US fans must like high scoring hockey - I'm not sure I have been convinced of this fact ever. So in order to sell the game outside the region where it is strong, the game must be opened up and scoring must go up. It doesn't matter how this is accomplished. Bigger nets are fine. Don't let goalies handle the puck. Why not? It doesn't matter if the changes alienate traditional fans. They have been taken foregranted throughout the Bettman reign of error. The fan that means the most is the sun belt fan of the weak failing teams he added. This fan is not a hockey fan. There is no evidence this person even wants to be a hockey fan or ever will become one. However, Gary Bettman is willing to completely change the direction of hockey as we know it to suit what he thinks this fan wants.

Last year, the Stanley Cup finals were a great series. The final scores were: Calgary 4 Tampa 1, Tampa 4 Calgary 1, Calgary 3 Tampa 0, Tampa 1 Calgary 0, Calgary 3 Tampa 2 (OT), Tampa 3 Calgary 2 (OT) and Tampa 2 Calgary 1. It was a great exciting series. Anyone who doesn't think so must not have watched it or must not be much of a hockey fan. Scoring was hard to find and the hockey was great. I'm worried that if Bettman gets his way, the hockey will be not as great and it doesn't matter if the scoring goes up or not (maybe it won't go up much - it hasn't in the AHL)