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NHLPA Agrees With You, NHL Needs More Scoring

May 12, 2015, 8:16 AM ET [147 Comments]
Ryan Wilson
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Good news, the NHLPA agrees with you that the overall quality of the NHL product needs to get better.

From Pro Hockey Talk

Citing a “growing concern over the lack of goal-scoring,” Sportsnet’s Damien Cox (video) reported this weekend that the NHLPA will bring that concern to the table when the competition committee meets in June.

Cox was short on any specifics, but it’s worth noting that, in 2012, NHL general managers debated whether there needed to be a “re-set” on obstruction. Fast forward to 2015 and the league is coming under increasing fire for what many see as a return to the bad old days of clutch-and-grab hockey.


People have mentioned many ideas to increase scoring in the NHL that range from increasing the size of the net, banning blocked shots, to just calling the rules the way they were in 2005-06.

Personally, I feel strongly about the latter option. More power plays will lead to more goal scoring. I realize that some fans don’t want the game to morph into a “special teams contest” but I don’t think that would be the case. The intended result would be for players to stop engaging illegally at even strength thus making even strength hockey more enjoyable to watch.

*I wrote extensively about the correlation between goal scoring and power plays
earlier this year*


Remember, actual goals aren’t what make the game of hockey exciting it is the amount of scoring chances. Great saves are just as exciting as goals, sometimes more so. By strictly calling the rulebook you will create more scoring chances

The players would adjust to the rules or hurt their teams. The better players who earn time and space would not have it taken away illegally and that is more fun to watch. Furthermore, the players with talent would have a bigger impact on the game than the lesser talented players. This is what everybody should want. Let the talent shine..

Any time you are troubleshooting issues you want to change one variable at a time. If you change multiple variables at once you won’t know which one is responsible for the change.

The NHL should fix the variable that is easiest to change and right now that variable is how they call the rules. It was a great product in 2005-06. We all know they are capable of it. There is no excuse to allow the current standard to continue on. If it doesn’t work then you can move on to some of the more progressive ideas.

I am glad the NHLPA will be addressing this concern and pressing the issue this summer.

Thanks for reading!

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