Rule Changes

[STL fan in MN]

I honestly don't see the point of changing the season to 84 games. I'm all for more hockey but it just seems like a cash grab overall. They could adjust the season time frame to begin and end whenever they wanted. I don't get adding 2 official games just to say the season will start 2 games earlier now??? Why change that? Was someone complaining that they just didn't play enough? Was 6 preseason games really too many? Why 2 games? I can't see the benefit to playing 84 games over 82.

I suppose since unlike the other major pro sports, the NHL relies on a greater percentage of its overall revenue from ticket sales and concessions in the arena rather than broadcasts? With a longer season and being a very physically demanding game, the players welcome the long winter break for the non-league tournaments. And in these modern days they make enough mooney to work out 12-months a year, without having to augment a summer job. So, training camp can be shorter to just final tweak rosters and work new faces on some line rushes in practice.
I don't mind it starting earlier and paying, or them being paid to play real games. But they need to figure out how to end the playoffs earlier in the Summer. Shorten the off-days between games in a series. Obviously, they want to get as many games on TV at that time as possible for whatever broadcast revenue they possibly can, so one at a time...but again. Fewer continue to watch anyway, and it probably picks back up for the final. But at that point there's one game at a time, so just have one off day for travel.

Playoff series aren’t spread out because of tv demands. It’s because of arena availability. Arenas are booked out 6-12 months in advance, sometimes more. Playoff games are scheduled a couple weeks in advance, sometimes just a few days. By then, a lot of arena already have a full schedule and it’s hard to squeeze in games. This will sometimes lead to drawn out game schedules. I recall this past spring the Blues and Jets even moved around a couple concerts to fit their games in.

[seattleblue]

I am not huge into records for hockey. So I don't care overmuch. But players who earn season records because of 84 games instead of 82, could be a thing. Once upon a time in baseball they changed from 154 games to 162 games and to this day due to the inviolate way math works 60 homers in 154 is more skillful powerful and impressive than 61 in 162.

[STL fan in MN]

I am not huge into records for hockey. So I don't care overmuch. But players who earn season records because of 84 games instead of 82, could be a thing. Once upon a time in baseball they changed from 154 games to 162 games and to this day due to the inviolate way math works 60 homers in 154 is more skillful powerful and impressive than 61 in 162.

That’s a fair point. I doubt the 2 extra games allows anyone to ever get close to Gretzky’s 200+ point seasons but I could see someone like Matthews scoring goal 60 in his 83rd or 84th game.

[theograce]

I am not huge into records for hockey. So I don't care overmuch. But players who earn season records because of 84 games instead of 82, could be a thing. Once upon a time in baseball they changed from 154 games to 162 games and to this day due to the inviolate way math works 60 homers in 154 is more skillful powerful and impressive than 61 in 162.

That’s a fair point. I doubt the 2 extra games allows anyone to ever get close to Gretzky’s 200+ point seasons but I could see someone like Matthews scoring goal 60 in his 83rd or 84th game.

I’ve learned to never say never. Just like Gretzky’s playoff records getting pushed lately

[SRV1990]

This article does an ok job of hitting the highlights but leaves out some key details IMO.

•The outlawing of deferred compensation in player contracts, which will go into effect on Oct. 7.

•The relaxation of player dress codes.

•The ability for players to endorse "wine and spirits."

•The prohibition of "double salary retention" in trades. Double retention had become commonplace at the NHL trade deadline, with teams retaining part of a player's salary between trading him to another team that retained another percentage of the contract before that player was then sent to his new club.

The missing detail for the double retention piece of it is that a 2nd retention will now have to wait 75 regular season days after the first retention. So the 2nd retention isn’t completely outlawed now but the practice of two retentions on the same day to cut a player’s cap hit by 75% is no more.

Also, the NHL announced that even though next season will expand to 84 games, it’ll start in mid-September and the Cup will be awarded by mid-June. This is a welcome change IMO. It’ll shorten this next offseason by a couple weeks but I’ve long thought the season went way too far into summer and ended way too close to the draft and when contracts end (June 30th). This will give teams a couple weeks to take care of business before the calendar rolls to the next season.

I'm all for beginning the season earlier, for no other reason than shortening the NHL dead zone period for fans between July 15 and September 15.

I'm all for the season to start earlier. It will shorten the season of troll posts (hopefully) and get us back to talking hockey.

Boy, this sure would be nice, but not likely to happen. Appreciate the wishful thinking, though.