I have never been a huge fan of the shootout but I prefer it to the tie games in the regular season that I grew up with. It's a topic I have debated in private with others at HockeyBuzz, with friends in the pressbox and with some of my contacts around the NHL.
I get why the purists hate it. I'm not saying I love it myself. But look, hockey (like it or not) is in the entertainment business. Shootouts provide entertainment and drama as opposed to the final buzzer sounding and two teams just skating back to the locker room with one point apiece and nothing actually resolved. I would NOT ever want to see shootouts in the playoffs and, yes, I understand the gripe about the rules suddenly changing in the spring.
It doesn't make a ton of sense for playoff spots to potentially be determined by something that's not considered a fair way to decide the season's most important games. On the flip side, I saw Philadelphia make it to the 2010 Stanley Cup Final -- and pretty nearly skate away with the NHL's ultimate prize -- after squeaking into the playoffs on a final-day shootout against the New York Rangers (who missed the postseason as a result).
Did that cheapen the subsequent run to the Final in people's eyes? Not in Philly, for sure. I have never heard anyone around here say, "Yeah, that playoff run and coming back from a 3-0 series deficit against Boston were just spoiled for me by the fact the Flyers had that damned skills competition against the Rangers."
At any rate, the NHL general managers recently proposed changes to the overtime rules in order to eliminate shootouts -- or, in milder reforms, reduce the frequency of shootouts. One proposal is to lengthen the current five-minute 4-on-4 overtime period. Another is to have teams skate 3-on-3 if the 4-on-4 session does not decide the game.
If the shootout is retained, one thing I would like to see is a change in the way points get awarded for the game. I'd rather see wins essentially get graded (three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime win, one for a shootout win) than to see overtime or shootout losses rewarded with one point. At the very least, if the "loser point" is retained in some form, then get rid of the point for an overtime loss and give the consolation point for a shootout loss with the winning team getting the standard two points regardless of whether they prevail in regulation, OT or shootout.
What would YOU like to see happen? Vote below...
QUESTION 1: How should the OT/shootout format be changed?
QUESTION 2: If shootouts remain, how should points be awarded?
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RUMOR UPDATE: BUYER'S MARKET D-MEN
I am hearing that several defensemen who have been offered around the NHL without any takers this far -- including Toronto's John Michael-Liles (whose $3.875 million cap hit is only partially offset with him buried in the AHL with the Marlies) and Philadelphia's Andrej Meszaros (a frequent healthy scratch with a $4 million cap hit) -- could finally be on the move by early December.
The catch: Other teams wants the players' current teams to eat a chunk of their cap hits, with the bigger the amount taken on meaning somewhat higher draft pick compensation in return. So far the current clubs -- and I know this for certain in the Flyers' case with Meszaros -- are not willing to eat any salary on the player's remaining contract; hence, no willing trade partners.
From what I've heard with Meszaros, the Flyers have been making him available for trade for at least the last 20 months but his numerous injuries -- wrist, back, achilles tendon and torn rotator cuff surgeries within less than two years -- and tentative play when in the lineup has scared off any potential trade partners. The player, who is an unrestricted free agent after the season, has been healthy thus far this season but has been in coach Craig Berube's doghouse pretty much ever since Berube took over for Peter Laviolette as Philadelphia's head coach.
In Liles case, other teams frequency cite to Toronto the combination of the player's defensive limitations, lack of size, modest production since leaving Colorado, some durability question marks and cap hit with two more seasons to run.
What has changed of late is something that happens every season in the NHL: attrition of defensemen due to injuries and/or team struggles. Among other teams, the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders are said to be scouring the NHL for potentially serviceable veteran defensemen to round out their bluelines.
Ultimately, though, I think the ball is in the court of the Flyers and Leafs to take on partial cap hits on their high-priced spare veteran defensemen if they want to move them. If and when that happens, I am told that modest draft pick compensation (most likely a conditional mid-round pick in Meszaros' case) is about the most that will go the other way.
In most cases in the NHL nowadays, it is VERY MUCH a seller's market when it comes to trading defensemen, because teams cling on to anyone who can play and few healthy and proven Dmen even make it to the UFA market anymore because their teams sign them to contract extensions.
The main buyers' market options, generally speaking, are problem contract/ injured/ unproductive for an extended time defensemen. This will change a bit by the trade deadline as out-of-contention clubs sell off assets. While both Buffalo and the Panthers have more or less already gone into fire sale mode, the price for desirable defensemen is still higher relative to the forwards whose contracts they've been willing to move out the door.
It's all about supply and demand, my friends. The demand for proven defensemen remains sky high and, with most teams hording such players, the supply is lowered.
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GOIN' ON A HOLIDAY
It has been several years since I have last had a true vacation. With Thanksgiving coming up here in the U.S., I am taking the opportunity to spend a week away with my wife and kids, visiting relatives and otherwise just having time together. I will return next weekend.
Of course, I can never truly get away from my work of chasing rumors, even while I am away. I will still plugged in with my sources and, if there's any big developments or breaking news, I will most certainly post them here.
In the meantime, we've arranged a powerful lineup of daily substitute HB bloggers in my page space over the next six days.
SUNDAY: John Jaeckel MONDAY: Mike Augello TUESDAY: Eric Engels WEDNESDAY: Paul Stewart THURSDAY: A special surprise guest blogger to overlap with Thanksgiving. A hint is that he's a Canadian-born five-time NHL All-Star who played in Stanley Cup Finals with three different U.S. based teams and appeared in five Cup Finals in all. FRIDAY: Bill Meltzer
Enjoy your week everyone!