I watched a very entertaining hockey game on Saturday night, between Montreal and Toronto. Who won is somewhat irrelevant to the whole concept of entertainment in this case, because I was enjoying the game almost from the drop of the puck. There was great flow, and some incredible skill in evidence. There wasn’t much play in the neutral zone, and not a whole lot of clutch and grab in general. So, here’s my quandry. This game had very few penalties called. There were certainly more than a few missed interference calls, and at least one dangerous boarding/checking from behind call that was missed/not called.

It was entertaining hockey, and the refs just “let them play.”

Then, I tried to watch the Ottawa at Vancouver game…The refs called a lot of penalties (in the first part of the game - that’s all I could stomach.) The game had no flow. I watched a little over half of the first period, and gave up on it. I don’t know - maybe it got entertaining after that, but after having just watched a very entertaining game, with lots of great plays and some truly beautiful goals, I couldn’t sit through a game with no tempo, no flow.

So, here is where my proposed solution from Friday comes crashing down. If the NHL were to crack down, and institute much more harsh penalties, the game would be unwatchable for the first little while, while the players adjusted to the “new rules.” The game is unhealthy enough right now, that a year like this could kill off a lot of fan interest for a long time - which could ultimately lead to the demise of the league.

So, what’s the solution then? Work with the support systems. Gradually work new, stricter rules into the game, from the peewee level and up. If kids playing in the WHL for the first time have been brought up to not do dangerously violent things to each other, they won’t do them in the WHL - then they won’t do them in the NHL. It would take a long time, but eventually, the game would be more entertaining. Those few calls that were missed in the Montreal Toronto game wouldn’t need to be missed, because players would be smart enough to avoid taking such stupid penalties in the first place.

The key though, is to make the dangerous and violent plays be penalized heavily, from a young age. Yes, hooking/holding/interference doesn’t make for an entertaining game, but that’s not what’s hurting the image of hockey. It would be good to reduce that stuff too, which is what’s been attempted every year for the last 5 or so. I think it’s working. At the same time, calling penalties when players sneeze (as in the Ottawa Vancouver game) doesn’t make for good hockey either.

Simpson’s quote of the day: “Immigrants! I knew it was them! Even when it was the bears, I knew it was them!” - Moe