Gary Betman is ruining hockey.

[DealsMorte]

This man has to be the worst possible candidate for NHL commissioner. What really pisses me off is that the owners of the teams actually voted him in. Why is he ruining hockey? Because as a former NBA commish he doesn't know a thing about the game. Every single rule change he has made is either just goddamn stupid or done the opposite of what it was supposed to do.

Let's increase offense, yeah we'll make the obstruction penalties which cuts down on nuetral ice turnovers, then we'll change the offside rule so that it will kill the momentum of the forward skating wings and centers. And lets dump most of the excitement out of the game by making fighting practically illegal. Nobody wants to see those guys punch each other, right?


Ok...I'm done. Sorry.

 

[perkele]

Nobody wants to see those guys punch each other, right?

It's hockey, go see boxing somewhere else.

 

[DealsMorte]

Ok lets lay out a hypothetical situation.

Fighting is no longer allowed. So now you have a bunch of guys playing a highly emotional sport with no outlet to let go of some anger and sticks in there hands.

No to counter a common arugument I hear before I hear it. What about football? Yes its another highly emotional sport but also there is more opportunities to let out anger in football. A hard hit in football is worth much more then a hard hit in hockey simply because you can let out everything during the hit. In hockey you have to think about whats gonna happen after you throw the hit while in football a hard hit usually means the current play is over. So a hard hit in hockey is almost done without thought and only done to establish a sort of pyhsical advantage.


Fighting has and always will be a strategic move in hockey. While alot of the time two players just get pissed at each other and drop gloves sometimes it is used as an emotinal lift for the players on the bench.


And coming from a fan point of view. Go to a house where there is hockey fans and yell fight when a hockey game is on. People come running from all areas of the house. Hockey fans appreciate fights because hockey is the only team sport that allows fighting to a certain degree. Real fans want every part of hockey including the fights. People dismiss it as just vulgar and maybe it is. But no one ever talks about football being vulgar and if hockey is vulgar football then has to be also.

 

[Rockafella Skank]

Gary Betman doesn't make the rules. The Rules Committee -- comprised of NHL Governors -- makes the rules. The NHL Board of Governors is comprised of team owners, executives or General Managers ... the so called experts of the game. Don't blame the NHL's president. His job is to increase league revenues.

 

[DealsMorte]

As I've said I'm quite pissed at the owners. But they've wanted to make these changes and they voted Betman in because they knew he would be there lacky. All I'm saying is he should think about what these changes do to the players and sport. The owners tried to push changes like this through before but past commissoners haven't allowed it.

 

[perkele]

Go to a house where there is hockey fans and yell fight when a hockey game is on. People come running from all areas of the house. Hockey fans appreciate fights because hockey is the only team sport that allows fighting to a certain degree.

Because most of them are fucking stupids.

 

[manny78]

Ok lets lay out a hypothetical situation.

Fighting is no longer allowed. So now you have a bunch of guys playing a highly emotional sport with no outlet to let go of some anger and sticks in there hands.

No to counter a common arugument I hear before I hear it. What about football? Yes its another highly emotional sport but also there is more opportunities to let out anger in football. A hard hit in football is worth much more then a hard hit in hockey simply because you can let out everything during the hit. In hockey you have to think about whats gonna happen after you throw the hit while in football a hard hit usually means the current play is over. So a hard hit in hockey is almost done without thought and only done to establish a sort of pyhsical advantage.


Fighting has and always will be a strategic move in hockey. While alot of the time two players just get pissed at each other and drop gloves sometimes it is used as an emotinal lift for the players on the bench.


And coming from a fan point of view. Go to a house where there is hockey fans and yell fight when a hockey game is on. People come running from all areas of the house. Hockey fans appreciate fights because hockey is the only team sport that allows fighting to a certain degree. Real fans want every part of hockey including the fights. People dismiss it as just vulgar and maybe it is. But no one ever talks about football being vulgar and if hockey is vulgar football then has to be also.

you're so wrong. I saw the best hockey games of my life during the last winter olympic games and guess what ? No fights. Cause according to the international rules, any player involved in a fight is automatically kicked out. People don't pay to say Tie Domie or Mathew Barnaby making fool of themselves but rather to see guys like Mario Lemieux or Naslund scoring....

 

[CanadianCripple]

Manny, I hope you don't think all games played under International rules are as "good" as those Olympic games. Those were games consisting of the best hockey players on the planet... of course they were entertaining. Plus it was a short Olympic series. A whole season could never be played at that intensity.

BTW, when was the last time a fight started at an NHL game where the fans booed and hissed in disgust? Never, that's when.

If you ever have the chance, watch a few games in Europe & then ask yourself if you'd reeeealllly like to see that crap night after night.

The only change I wouldn't mind seeing is the elimination of the red line.

 

[cure]

Scoring is up but if your a good team and can follow a certain system you will play great defense even if they get rid of the redline and impliment other rules. (flyers, dallas, jersey)

Fighting is still around but to a lesser degree. The "goon" position has been dropped and we've seen fighters over the years become both enforcers and playmakers with the best now being Donald Brashear but look at guys like Martin Lapointe, Worrell, Laracque, McCarthy..etc etc...they can all play and that makes the league that much better...but the fights should never ever leave this sport...

 

[perkele]

If you ever have the chance, watch a few games in Europe & then ask yourself if you'd reeeealllly like to see that crap night after night.

You're sooo wrong! If you wanna see good hockey watch European hockey. The best players (under 30yo) in NHL are Europeans. Why? They don't spend their time fighting!


NHL would "die" if there would be European hockey league and all the Europeans from NHL would come play in that league.