the NHL rule changes make the front page of the national newspaper (Globe & Mail) - not just the front page of the sports section, the Front Page of the whole paper!
As far as the changes themselves go, I’m all in favour, as I think that they will open up the game and provide more scoring. We’ll see in a few years if I’m right or not …
Comments? Any hockey fans out there?
mp
Goal tender can’t handle puck, smaller pads, move goal line back, bring in the tag-up rule. That would totally change the game.
jaretj
Actually, you know you are in Canada when your race this weekend will be held in minus 22 degree temps and people assume that it is normal. Anyone coming up to Ottawa for the Keskinada World Loppet 50K skate ski race?
But yes, increasing the scoring in the NHL would be a fine thing. It used be great when you could be down 7-4 in the third period and win 9-8 in overtime and you needed over 200 pts to win the scoring title !
Used to be a huge Leaf’s fan in the old days. Don’t bother much now. Too many teams, too many players with names I can’t pronounce and the season is too long. Who cares about hockey playoffs in June.
My favorite change (though the least likely) would be to make the ice sheets olympic size. That or at least make the rinks a little wider. I think it would allow the skill players more room to skate and show off and force the D to skate with them instead of clogging up the neutral zone.
I don’t mind eliminating the center line. Being a big fan of college hockey (Go Blue!) it’s neat to see home run passes from the D or the goaltender every once in a while. However, I think that improvement would be short term as i’m sure some coach of a no talent team will devise a way to take up space much the same way the trap works today.
That being said, the most sensible change without altering the fundamental mechanics of the game would be to shorten the season by at least 10 games and contract the size of the league by at least 2 teams. This will never happen though.
Wait… This is a tri forum…right?
I was so hoping the Leafs beat the lightning last night, or at least see Ty Domi beat the snoot out of that whiney little biatch St Louis. He may be fast but if you watch in between plays he is always always whiney to the refs about something.
Rules changes: Finally!!! I’m all for either Goalies can’t handle puck or if they’re out of their crease and handle the puck then their open game.
Watching teams play Trap is boring as all hell.
Jim
People spell honour and colour with the “u”, and yes, before someone else says it, there’s always the “oot and aboot” - it’s a dead giveaway …
mp
seriously…who says oot and aboot? maybe it’s an old people thing…
as for the nhl stuff…i don’t like the goalie behind the net rule, or the goal line rule… all for making the pads smaller…and the touch up thing is supposed to be a good thing…would take some getting used to, but if it works, go for it!
and you guys missed the most important thing…“eh?”
on a side note…if i wasn’t in the middle of midterms, the weather was SO nice today… a balmy -5 C…i was so close to taking the bike out!
and the other day when it was -15 C, snow was melting…that’s canadian 
(actually…i think b/c the road was heated by the sun…but it was still pretty cool )
-kevin
Hahahahahaha - that’s too funny man.
you see no trash littering the streets.
Shame on you !!!
"Things get a little too polite. "
I’ve lived in both Canada and the USA and while there are a lot of similiarities there are definately some differences.
My best friend is a Canuk who now lives in Philly. One day we were in downtown Philly near the Liberty Bell and we’re a bit lost looking for a certain restaurant. He walks up to some stanger and says " Hey Bud, where’s…" In Canada you’d be more likely to say “Excuse me sir, but could you please tell me where I might find …”
At the time I cringed at what I thought was his new rudeness, but now I realize it’s just a different way of doing things. It’s quite acceptable to ask for directions that way in Philly. In a Canuk city, although IMO Toronto is changing, it would be considered rude.
Your swim team’s pre-meet yell is:
“Moose Jaw, Moose Jaw, Rah, Rah, Rah”
That is a no-shitter.
rotfl
now that’s funny!
Keskinada? I wanted to do it but am not ready technically yet. I’ve started skating a month ago…
I’ll be there to check the event and…Beckie Scott!
What’s your race number? I’ll cheer you up
Richard
You know you’re in Canada when the city is filled with billboards showing how great Canadian culture is! What’s with that ad campaign and very involved website (www.culture.ca )?! Is that where our tax dollars go? Why are Canadians so concerned with distinguising themselves from Americans that they have to put out an ad campaign for it!?
Dawn
I would start by prohibiting franchises in any place where it is impossible to play hockey outside. Hockey in hot locales just seems wrong.
Seems like talking about hockey rules changes for 2004-05 is pretty much rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Unless there’s a breakthrough with the CBA renegotiation soon, I’m pretty pessimistic about there being a season at all next year.
Allez Red Wings!
Rferron, my bib number is 109. This will be the 16th time I do this silly 50K race. Just hoping to survive without frostbite with a start temp projected to be minus 22 C. I’ll be in “A” wave with the elites, so look for the guy pulling up the rear of that group :-).
Goalies should get to handle the puck. Some of you may remember back in 1982 or so, Mike Palmateer, goalie for the Washington Capitals, had 15 assists for the season. He had more points than a few of his defencemen !
I agree - until the CBA issues are sorted, the rules are irrelevant.
However, I must say I do support the changes (the new rules don’t say goalies can’t handle the puck, they just can’t handle it behind the red line and eliminate any chance the offensive team has to forecheck). I also think they should take out the centre red line - that would really kill the trap.
My only hope for a season next year is that the owners look at what happened to baseball and how long it has taken baseball to recover from their last lockout (I know, this is a false hope).
mp
Go Leafs, Go