competition and parity

[automatic]

could this be the tightest year ever in the nhl? as of this moment in time (morning of friday march 24) there are only 6 teams under .500 in the whole league. out of 30 teams. think about that. 24 teams have even or winning records. only 16 of those 24 make the playoffs.

crazyness! if this is a snapshot of the years to come under the slary cap then i say bring it on!

[Cdn_Brdr]

Well the whole idea was to be able to make lower teams more competitive by putting all teams on the same level. The profit sharing alos allows the smaller market teams to stay afloat too. All in all i think it's a good deal, and despite the lock out, will work out better for the fans in the long run.

I guess it's working! I think the cap is going to allow the superstars to be spread around more. Teams won't be able to afford a 'stacked' team like in the days of old.... unless players are willing to take massive pay cuts.

[KenJi]

I like the parity but its been that way for the last couple of years.

Just think of the 10 or so 100 point teams in the last season before the lockout.

Now teams like buffalo and nashville can excel with this game cause of some of the space to skate, but all in all I am not that big of a fan of some of the rules of this new N.H.L. In particular the penalties that you just can't tell which is a penalty anymore.

[Senior]

Originally Posted by KenJi

I like the parity but its been that way for the last couple of years.

Just think of the 10 or so 100 point teams in the last season before the lockout.

Now teams like buffalo and nashville can excel with this game cause of some of the space to skate, but all in all I am not that big of a fan of some of the rules of this new N.H.L. In particular the penalties that you just can't tell which is a penalty anymore.

I think the penalties are a lot clearer now. If you impede someone's progress that doesn't have the puck it's a penalty. The big test will be to see how games are called in the playoff's.

[Hot Karl]

standings are over inflated, that's why the playoff picture is insanely tight.

what used to end in ties now guarantees someone is getting 2 pts. so you've got teams with an extra 5 "wins" which is of course 5 extra points.

[Senior]

Originally Posted by Hot Karl

standings are over inflated, that's why the playoff picture is insanely tight.

what used to end in ties now guarantees someone is getting 2 pts. so you've got teams with an extra 5 "wins" which is of course 5 extra points.

Well that's one way of looking at it. The thing is though is that there are 3 main areas that were looked at in all the rules changes that were made. One that teams be able to make money, two that more goals were scored and three that fans be better entertained. I think all 3 have been nicely addressed. I understand that from a purest point of view it would have been nice to see maybe a 10 minute overtime instead of the shoot out but I think the shootout has been very popular with out question. The 3 point games have also as you pointed out made the standings very close and will keep more teams playoff hopes alive down to the wire, thus making it more entertaining to the fans.

[KenJi]

Originally Posted by Senior

I think the penalties are a lot clearer now. If you impede someone's progress that doesn't have the puck it's a penalty. The big test will be to see how games are called in the playoff's.

Not true.

The refs are still too inconsistent. They let one big penalty go and than they go and call a weak obstruction call.

Too many powerplays. I don't enjoy this part of the game much.

[KenJi]

Originally Posted by Senior

Well that's one way of looking at it. The thing is though is that there are 3 main areas that were looked at in all the rules changes that were made. One that teams be able to make money, two that more goals were scored and three that fans be better entertained. I think all 3 have been nicely addressed. I understand that from a purest point of view it would have been nice to see maybe a 10 minute overtime instead of the shoot out but I think the shootout has been very popular with out question. The 3 point games have also as you pointed out made the standings very close and will keep more teams playoff hopes alive down to the wire, thus making it more entertaining to the fans.

I honestly don't think the product they rite now matches the product they are trying to achieve. The NHL play of the 80's.

The no two line pass is a big plus but alot of the other junk i find is just that junk.

and what about the playoff's. I really hope they aren't going to include a shootout in the playoff's. That would be the single most retarded thing Gary Bettman can do.