Life and Stuff

One of my fans, (Who I assume hails from Washington's Crossing PA and is somehow related to me) has asked me to write a column on hockey. I must admit that more me this is a very tall order. I say this for two reasons, one, I hardly watch hockey on television anymore, and two, I feel that the game has been changed too much for the worst to warrant my viewing of it. Nonetheless, I want to development a friendly rapport with my fans and since this is a medium that thrives on giving the people what they want, I must oblige my loyal fans. Allow me to present to you a startling criticism of what I believe is wrong with the game of hockey today.

Forgive my bias here, but I think the league lacks a lot of physicality from years past. I say this because I believe NHL Vice President in charge of fines and suspensions Colin Campbell has tried to make the game more interesting to the worldwide audience by cutting down on fighting and enforcing harsher penalties for bone-cru hits. I hail from New England, an area that was once a rabid hotbed for all things Bruins. This was so because the Bruins were able to pack the Boston Garden because they were tough and had people who could put the puck in the net. The Garden was such a showcase for fearless players and fans that former New York Ranger defenseman Brad Park was quite correct when he labeled Boston Garden "a zoo." The Bruins got it done in the 70's, 80's, and 90's because they were not a bunch of stiffs. If you wanted to outsmart them, you would have to be unafraid, rugged, and willing to put up your dukes when challenged if you wanted to succeed. Today's Bruins are characterized by cheap ownership and a lack of toughness in keeping with the trends of the new, modern, and highly uninteresting NHL.

What also bothers me is the overwhelming influence that the European styles of hockey has on the North American game. Since the late 1980's, the NHL has been littered with loads of swift-skating Europeans who play an entirely different style that we North Americans are accustomed to. As a champion of diversity and integration in all sports, I can't say I blame them for playing this way. However, so many Europeans have found success in the NHL that Mr. Warmth (aka Gary Bentman) felt the need to cater to a bunch of caviar eating sissies by creating a kindler, gentler NHL that promotes quick and graceful play and frowns down upon physicality.

Lastly, what burns me up about the new NHL is that points do not seem to be as tough to earn anymore as in year's past. Once upon a time points were something earned, not given but since Mr. Warmth took over as commissioner, he has instituted a policy that as long as a game goes into overtime, each time will get a point no matter what the outcome of the game. The after effects of the rule change cause several teams to dog it during sudden death because they felt they would get a point anyway and to that giving up another point, is not such a big deal. Since the advent of the shootout, overtime is seen as an excuse to go through the motions because you'll have your best going against the goalie in the shootout. The NHL is the only league in professional sports in which how many points you have is in no way indicative of how good your team really is because points are given away as long as you force overtime. More often than not a person in the business world is not rewarded for going the extra mile, so why should we reward teams for just getting overtime?

If these trends are reversed, I will probably watch more hockey, provided the Bruins somehow become a more exciting hockey team. Until then, the NHL will be without my following until they fix this mess they created.

Labels: Fighting, Gary Bettman., Hockey, New NHL