New hockey rules...what do you think?

Just like all major sports and their respective
governing bodies, hockey will still be played.
I think the red line played a big part in the game as will its absence. Obstruction may allow for more wide open play, and some high scoring games as well.

I like the part about "sending a written letter to the player". gee whiz. Taken all the fun out of the sport if you ask me. Not a decent sport left. sissies.

I think these 2 rules will lead to some form of hanging. These seem to be rules that pander to the warm weather fans that don't know the game and just want to see break-aways and what I think will be flashy cheap goals. Tag-up on-side is patently ridiculous IMHO. First of all, there could be 3 players in the zone when the puck enters and the ref and one linesman will have to monitor the tag-up? - stupid. Secondly, I think it ties up the defense too much. Incidently, these 2 rules are in effect in the old-man leagues around here specifically because we skate like a bunch of 45-year old amatuers. These are not NHL caliber rules.

There had been talk about no-touch icing, which would have been even a bigger fiasco than the crap above.

I do like the smaller goalie equipment, especially now that Patrick Roy owns most of the goalie records. :) I also actually like the larger offensive zones. A good compromise to open it up. But in combination of the other rules, I think they've gone overboard. Hockey should not become a no-contact sport.

I don't really like any of the rule changes, but the only one that really bothers me is the shootout. Hockey is a team sport. A shootout reduces it to a one-on-one compitition.

And then again, when a golie "Freezes" the puck, what constitutes unnecessary?

IMHO, modern day hokey players have gotten too big and too fast. The only change they really need is to increase the size of the rink.

...just watch professional fake wrestling. It's on TV damn near every night all year round and usually on pay-per-view.

Speaking of NASCAR wrecks, whatever happened to the Demolition Derbies? Does anyone remember those? Wide World of Sports showed them every now and then. They were fun to watch.

Is it to score goals and win games or to punch someone in the nose? 99% of the men in this world have the ability of bloodying another man's nose. Less than 1% have the ability to score a goal or to block a shot in a professional hockey game. It doesn't take much skill to punch someone; it only takes a large measure of stupidity. I've never played hockey and I may be wrong but I assume it does take a helluva lot of skill to score a hockey goal in a NHL game.

the channel they're on!!!!

BEER TIME!!! :D

have a nice day :)

The best way to learn hockey as a spectator is to go to a few games with a discreet but knowledgable fan. There are a few smaller nuances that are much easier to learn when your there, live at a game, adrenaline pounding - nothing like it.

Truth is I didn't really understand hockey till I was in college tending bar between periods. Theres nothing like seeing grown men and women litterally hanging on to the sides of the plexiglass walls screaming at the opposing side, the home team and maybe a ref or two! Awesome stuff.

I know that Texans take all forms of football very serious. Not taking anything away from you there but Northerners and Canadians take our Hockey just as seriously.

If you haven't attended a game you really owe yourself some fun. Some of the best hockey I have ever seen has been at the college level and theres some really good minor leagues out there as well.

Enjoy the game. The new rules just suck but its more about what the owners wanted not the players.

- beads

At nearly all of the 50+ hockey games I've been to, I have seen real fights. Maybe you just can't tell the difference. I've even seen blood on the ice (anaheim vs capitals c.1996 @ USAir arena) I've been going to hockey games most of my life. I don't care what you think, I like to watch them beat the crap out of each other because it is interesting how they do it. Shirt ripping, shirt over head, the best is when they each grab the front of the other guys shirt and use the other hand to just beat away at their opponent's head until one of them loses grip and falls, at which point the refs come in. They let them fight because they know it is what a lot of the fans come for. I don't expect hockey players to be overly bright, nor do I expect them to know restraint.

"I don't care what you think"

I think you do care what I think. You value my opinion very highly. You know I'm the only sane person on TR who can be counted on to give an objective, fair and unbiased opinion: ^O

"It doesn't take much skill to punch someone;"
I take exception to this. It takes considreable skill to punch me. Step on the ice with any professional hockey player and see how many shots you can get in.

We were dressing after a tough loss one time and one of the guys wanted to cheer us up. He said that in a world of 6 billion people, to be in the elite top 1%, we'd have to be among the 60,000,000 best players in the world. He thought we would qualify for that. Even after getting blown out of the game 6-1. We'll challenge any over-40 Sudanese amateur team!! LOL.

mambo, I guess you're right. Its much less than 1%. Hell, I might even qualify for the top 1% and I haven't strapped on a pair of ice skates in 20 years (and have never even touched a hockey wafer ;) )and I have never left the ice rink unbroken or unbruised. How many NHL'ers are there? About 20 per team? With NHL teams now in backwaters like Dubuque, Omaha, Birmingham and El Paso, there must be at least 50 teams? ?:| A thousand NHL players divided into the 6 billion citizens of the world...does anyone have a calculator handy that will compute down to the 4th decimal point?

I enjoy taking in a hockey game live; but I can't get into watching it on tv.

I hate the new rules