TopShelf's Journal: Drop the Puck, eh?

The NHL 2005-6 season is ready to roll, now that the owners and players have ratified the new CBA. This leads to a number of changes that could make this the most interesting season in a loooooong time. In fact, what we're really seeing is the dawn of a new era in hockey - first we had the pre-NHL days, the Original Six era, and most recently the Expansion Era. What should we call this next stage in hockey's evolution?

Here's just a few of the major developments that should make this season a winner:

1) Sidney Crosby: the #1 pick with all the hype gets to play alongside Mario Lemieux and should help revive hockey in Pittsburgh. There's other young talent like Kovalchuk & Heatley in Atlanta, Nash in Columbus, and Datsyuk & Zetterberg in Detroit that could develop into new stars.

2) Offense Rules: the NHL finally got serious about adjusting the rules to liven up the game, most significantly by ditching the two-line offsides pass (my personal fave) and reducing the size of goalie equipment (which, if anything, will emphasize their athletic talent). I'm not so crazy about adding shootouts at the end of regular season games, but I'll give them credit for being bold here.

3) Free Agents on the Loose: to get under the new salary cap, teams will have a one-time opportunity to buy contracts out and dump players into free agency, which will result in the closest thing to a fantasy draft we'll ever see in pro sports. Bet on upwards of 100 additional quality free agents coming into the market next week. Even though hockey already has competitive parity between big- and small-market teams, this is going to be a fun time to watch what the various GM's do.

4) Drop the Gloves: if I read the rules aright, it looks like the instigator rule is getting trimmed down to apply only to the final 5 minutes of the game. Bring back the old time hockey, eh? Toe Blake, Eddie Shore, eh?

Stay tuned for further developments. Heck, I may even look around for opportunities to start writing about hockey again. Long ago (until 1998), I used to write a column for a hockey site. We're truly seeing the dawn of a new era for the NHL, and I think it will definitely be worth a long look...

Go Red Wings

[RailGunner]

If any team needs a goalie, Curtis Joseph is available.

And now that his favorite coach is with the Wings, I'm hoping Sergei Federov comes home.

Re:Go Red Wings

[TopShelf]

I live in Indianapolis, and the day before the Indy 500 they have a HUGE parade through downtown, featuring all the drivers, a zillion marching bands, and a cavalcade of celebrities. We had our seats right along the parade route and Sergei cruised by a few feet away from us - I made sure to yell out "Come back to the Wings!" which got his attention, considering most people there didn't really know who he was...

The thing is, considering the lack of success he had in Anaheim, would he want to play for Babco

New Rules

[dave-tx]

I, too, don't like the shootout. Too gimmicky. I didn't hear anything about the proposed 3-on-3 during OT, so I assume that didn't pass. Shame, that would have been fun.

I wish Crosby would have gone to a Canadian team (other than Toronto). I'm not a Pittsburgh fan, and don't beleive hockey has a strong future there - with or without Crosby. Note also, under the new free agency rules, he'll be unrestricted at age 25.

I may be wrong, but I think you misinterpret the instigator rule. I beleive that the

Re:New Rules

[TopShelf]

Yup, you're right - it looks like I misread the instigator part. I'll tell you that one of the two or three most exciting things I have ever seen in hockey was on March 26, 1997, when Darren McCarty pounded Claude Lemieux's face into mush (the best part was that in the whole mess, he only got 2 minutes for roughing). Fighting in hockey (usually) has a genuine purpose in enforcing the unwritten rules of the game, it rarely causes injury to the combatants, and the fans overwhelmingly love it.

The worst thin

Re:New Rules

[dave-tx]

Similarly, my favorite was the excellent goonery at the end of the Flyers/Senators playoff game last season(?) - set off because of a terrible cheap shot, every time the puck was dropped, 3-4 fights broke out. Happened 4 faceoffs in a row, IIRC. Ironic thing was, the guy who committed the cheap shot (Havlat?) was sitting in the penalty box serving someone else's penalty and had to watch all of this unfold in front of him. Gads, I've missed hockey.

I agree with you about the 20 team playoffs. Stupid, to s

Thank God

[1nsane0ne]

I have missed hockey so much, I'm so glad it's back. At least we still had college hockey here which isn't the same at all but is better than nothing.