The Champions Hockey League is a season-long tournament involving Europe’s elite teams. The CHL has introduced some interesting rule changes:
• Minor penalties serve the full two minutes, even if a power-play goal is scored.
• If a goal is scored during a delayed penalty, the penalty is still served.
• If a team scores short-handed, their penalty ends.
The NHL should adopt all of these rules immediately. Emphasize scoring and attacking. Make violations more expensive.
Think of the Penguins in 1988-89 when Mario Lemieux tallied an NHL-record 13 shorthanded goals. He would have scored on a shorty, then scored on the same strength 15 seconds later. Like Lemieux’s level of attack needs any push.
One potential problem with these changes: The reaction of NHL referees may be to call fewer penalties because they see the offending team’s disadvantage as too high. (If you don’t believe that, you don’t watch much NHL hockey.)
Prior to the 1956-57 season, the full two minutes of a penalty were earned. But Montreal’s lackluster power play in 1955-56 ended that. The Canadiens’ Jean Beliveau once scored three power-play goals in 44 seconds. The NHL voted to cripple the quality.
Here’s another change that could make the NHL better: USA Hockey used a rule for youth competition that prohibits players from icing the puck while shorthanded. Treat it like icing 5-on-5: Face deep in the offensive team’s zone.
That’s a great rule: It makes you play hockey. No lazy shortcuts. Hockey makes a lot of shortcuts in the game.
But the NHL will not adopt any of these changes. If hockey is more exciting, more people will probably watch. Who needs that?