I think we can all agree on one thing in the sports world: the NHL sucks. Big time. It’s plain boring to watch. Hockey’s supposed to be the, “fastest game on earth,” but when the league is diluted so much, teams have no choice but to use defensive minded systems all the time. I’m not knocking them for using the systems; it’s the best way to win in the league today. The NHL needs contraction; it’s the only way to eliminate the trap as the system of choice by adding more concentrated talent. They shouldn’t bastardize the game by altering the rules or changing the size of the ice. They shouldn’t accommodate less skilled players by enlarging the nets or limiting the size of goalie pads. The NHL should contract ten teams.Hopefully this would provide enough concentration of offensive talent to move away from the trapping systems. Imagine how good Calgary would’ve been last year if Jarome Iginla had even one more All-Star caliber teammate at forward. Could anyone stop Iginla and, say, Ilya Kovalchuk, currently of the Atlanta Thrashers? And wouldn’t you want to watch them? It looks like we’ve got our first candidate for contraction. Atlanta, you just don’t deserve a hockey team. In a town dominated by Michael Vick and the Atlanta Braves, there’s really not much room for hockey. While we’re at it, let’s get rid of the Carolina Hurricanes as well. Yes, I know, they made it to the Stanley Cup Finals a couple of years ago, but come on, would anyone actually mourn the loss of this team? The Buffalo Sabres? Gone. They’re already bankrupt, I think everyone would agree with this team getting contracted, except maybe their 50 fans. So that’s three teams so far, with offensive talents like Kovalchuk, Dany Heatley (pending the results of his court case), Erik Cole, Daniel Briere and Chris Drury going back into the talent pool. Imagine any playoff team from last year adding even one of these players. They would force teams out of their trap quite easily.
Alright, next three teams to get contracted. I guess this is as good a time as any to mention that no Canadian teams will be getting contracted, so if you’re looking for some good old Canadian bashing, look somewhere else. This is still pretty easy, we’re going to take out the Florida Panthers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks and Phoenix Coyotes. I don’t believe there’s any need for explanation in Florida’s case, we all know there’s only one team necessary in Florida, and seeing as Tampa Bay just won the Stanley Cup, they get to stay. Anaheim can be contracted for any number of reasons, ranging from the fact that they’re owned by Disney, to the fact that there’s another hockey team very close to them, the Los Angeles Kings, who are immune to contraction because Gretzky played for them, and that’s an important part of hockey history. Phoenix, on the other hand, cannot be protected by Gretzky. Who in the NHL thought it was a good idea to give Gretzky a team in the desert? There’s no hockey out there, as far as I’m concerned. Gretzky would be sold a Canadian team as a consolation prize, which should have happened years ago. So, with those three teams out of the mix, we can add talented players like Olli Jokinen, Sergei Federov, Petr Sykora, Vaclav Prospal, Shane Doan and Daymond Langkow into the mix of offensive talents available.
The next two teams to go were still pretty easy. First, Nashville’s got to go. There really isn’t any need for hockey there, and I doubt many people there care about it. They did make the playoffs last year, which makes it a little harder to contract them, but still doesn’t save them. I’d really like to contract Chicago, but that can’t happen, they’re an Original Six team, so hopefully they’ll help themselves out and get some good players out of this contraction draft. So, looks like the Washington Capitols are next on the chopping block. I’m not saying it’s a bad town or anything, but their management sucks. They seem to be following the New York Rangers formula to success, which doesn’t really work. Not much good offensive talent here, but these two teams do have several decent young players that haven’t reached their potential yet.
So two more to go and here’s where it starts getting tougher. Columbus or Pittsburgh, one of these has to get contracted, but each has it’s pros and cons. Pittsburgh had one of the greatest players ever on their team, Mario Lemieux, who also happens to own the team. Plus, they’ve got a good core of young players. Also, I’m from Pittsburgh, and know for a fact that there are a lot more hockey fans here than in Columbus. Columbus, on the other hand, has a great new stadium and also has good young players. Pittsburgh is planning on building a new stadium, though, so we’ll take their word for it and contract Columbus. Also, this move gets Rick Nash, the LeBron James of hockey, out of the wasteland of Columbus, and, in a perfect world, onto a good team. The last team to get contracted is the New York Islanders. The Rangers can’t be contracted (Original Six), nor can the Devils (good fan base). That area is overpopulated with hockey teams, so by process of elimination, the Islanders are gone. This adds another outstanding young player by the name of Trent Hunter into our contraction draft.
So to recap, Atlanta, Carolina, Buffalo, Florida, Anaheim, Phoenix, Nashville, Washington, Columbus and the New York Islanders should all be contracted. There are now 20 teams in the NHL, so the playoff system takes after the NFL playoffs. I’d do away with divisions though, and just have the top six teams in the Eastern and Western conferences make the playoffs, with the top two earning a bye of course. While this plan may alienate some fans in the contracted cities, any true fans will simply find another team to cheer for, and many more casual fans will be gained than lost, seeing as how the game will now actually be watchable.
6 replies on “NHL Addition by Subtraction”
good article lets get it into the voting queue.
I agree with contraction I agree with your article for the most part, the NHL needs less teams to spread the talent better. However you can’t get rid of the NY Islanders, way too much history. Maybe keep the Islanders and Phoenix, if for no other reason than to appease the Great One.
Although I still think hockey will have much of the same problems. Scoring isn’t going to rise with just contraction. Something needs to be done to get the league back where it was in the 80’s.
wrong cure for the disease The disease of a boring, clutch-and-grab NHL cannot be cured by contraction. The idea of the dilution of talent causing the problem is a myth; it’s a minor issue at best.
In order to eliminate boring hockey, new rules are not needed. What is needed is that the existing rules be called as they are written. Just look at some tape of hockey in the late 80’s or so. Clutching and grabbing did not exist, because if a player did it, he was penalized. The officiating in the NHL is a bad joke, and is the real main cause of boring hockey.
Changes to the rules are not needed. But the rules should not be ignored. The reasons why they are now ignored are complicated, and I won’t get into them. Suffice it to say that so many things that are commonplace in the NHL now would have easily drawn penalties until just over 10 years ago.
Well, in the ’80’s… there were 21 teams. I agree, the officiating is poor, but that type of play would go away with more talent. How many times do you see the good players playing like that? Not too often, it’s the lesser players who are forced to play that style.
Posted in the forums too… don’t know if that was you too, but that response was a bit more elaborate. I was shocked when I saw Gretzke had a 18% shooting percentage in his first year with the Kings, and Gary Roberts had a 22% this year…I never would’ve guessed that.
Look at the numbers… In 1992/93, the NHL averaged 3.63 goals per game per team (GPG). The next year, two teams were added, and the GPG dropped to 3.15. This would seem to support your theory. But let’s keep going.
The next three years were pretty stable, with GPG’s of 2.99, 3.14 and 2.92. Then in 1997/98, still with 26 teams, the GPG dropped to 2.64. No teams were added to explain this drop, so there must be another explanation.
The next year a new team was added…and the GPG was almost identical to the previous year, at 2.63.
The next year saw yet another team added…and the GPG increased some, to 2.75.
In 2000/01, two teams were added, and there was no effect on the GPG; it was 2.76.
In the three years since then, all with 30 teams, the GPG has reached new lows, at 2.62, 2.58, and 2.57.
If the number of teams (and thus the absolute quality of players) is so determinative of the level of scoring, why can it not explain any of the changes in scoring levels in the period when the NHL went from 26 to 30 teams? Perhaps the answer is far more complex than “get rid of a bunch of teams.”
The 80’s had far more differences than the number of teams. For instances, relatively speaking, goalies sucked. They did not have goaltending coaches, and were basically left on their own. Plus, their equipment was inferior, though it’s very easy to overstate the importance of that.
But you’ll see the biggest difference if you watch the games. There was no clutching and grabbing in the 80’s. If you did it, you were penalized. Players were allowed to skate without interference. And the suggestion that only crappy players clutch and grab is simplistic as well. It’s not so much the players as the coaches. The Devils have an enormous amount of talent, but they play the interference game with the best of them. Coaches play that way because they know they can get away with it. Again, the reasons for this are very complex, and really can’t be done justice here.