[Article] Brian Burke - Lobbying for wider ice surfaces

[bob-loblaw]

Think of all the revenue they'd lose by taking out one row of seats. It won't happen.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by DoubleF

Isn't the NHL Allstar game closer to the Olympics rosters than a typical NHL team? Not that I disagree with your assessments.

I was also under the impression that teams could have varied rink sizes based on the theoretical current ice to max size which may provide an actual "home team" advantage? kinda like how in Baseball teams have slightly different stadiums. Or maybe that was a wish from fans...

The NHL rules call out a uniform rink size, so no, that isn't an option. Nor do I think the league is likely to make it one.

As to the Olympic rosters being closer to ASG talent than regular game, that is reasonably true. And scores for games among the big six are lower than when one of them plays one of the lesser nations because of the talent disparity. Ultimately, the solution I always offer for increasing scoring is massive expansion. Mistakes breed offence, and as the talent pool gets deeper and the coaching gets better, mistakes are decreased. Add something like six teams and 120 players to the NHL, and you will dilute the talent pool, increase mistakes and increase offence.

Bigger arenas, however, don't increase offence. Widening the rinks does the same thing that moving the blue lines out did - it pushes the offence further away from the net. All you're doing there is giving the goaltenders more time to see the shots.

[BigTuna]

There's no room to move out there. they do need to expand the ice surface.

[cam_wmh]

Originally Posted by northcrunk

I prefer to play on a wider ice surface and would totally support this. Would add more creativity to the game.

Figured you'd be on board, with widening the current 85 foot surface by the width of a bike path.

[browna]

Good idea. I think the biggest advantage to today's game would be that extra width through the neutral zone for a team to enter the zone with some pace.

[monkeyman]

They should just make all the players smaller.

[gvitaly]

I don't think it will help offense all that much. In fact, I think it will have have the opposite effect. More space also makes it easier for a team to get the puck out of their zone, which in turn will reduce the other team's ability to keep the pressure. I think that at the end of the day it is more likely that the NHL coaches will turn it into a defensive advantage before the elite players turn it into an offensive one.

[calumniate]

Nm!

[Itse]

I just want the rink size to be the same everywhere.

The Olympic sized rink is about 13.5 feet wider than the NA rink. Burkes proposal of going 5 feet wider than the NA rink would be a decent compromise.

[Itse]

nm

[The Fonz]

There are easier ways to generate more flow and scoring chances, without sacrificing seating.

How about when a player is penalized, he serves the full time in the box, regardless of whether the opposition scores or not. That'd add a couple more mins of PP time to each game.

Penalized team shouldn't be allowed to ice the puck either. No rules should be excused for the penalized team... They go down a man for the duration of the penalty, and that's it. If they ice the puck, play should be blown down, and offending team is not allowed to make a line change, just like 5v5 play.

[The Fonz]

And make goalie equipment smaller, God dammit. Nothing wild, but what they have today is beyond excessive.

[Street Pharmacist]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

There are easier ways to generate more flow and scoring chances, without sacrificing seating.

How about when a player is penalized, he serves the full time in the box, regardless of whether the opposition scores or not. That'd add a couple more mins of PP time to each game.

Penalized team shouldn't be allowed to ice the puck either. No rules should be excused for the penalized team... They go down a man for the duration of the penalty, and that's it. If they ice the puck, play should be blown down, and offending team is not allowed to make a line change, just like 5v5 play.

Strongly disagree with your ideas. As it stands, the referees have a big day in who wins. No one wants to see that increase. You'd effectively be handing the win to whichever team the referees sees take more penalties. We need more 5v5 scoring if anything.


I don't really think we need to change anything personally, but if we do, it needs to affect 5v5

[HOWITZER]

International soccer allows for slight variations in pitch size, and even more so at the national level.

If I remember correctly, the Saddledome can be configured for both existing NHL and IIHF surfaces right? Or did that change with the install of the additional change rooms a couple of years back for the World Juniors?

It'd be cool to see a league where teams can vary their own rink size (within a defined parameter (maybe between existing NHL and IIHF sizes)) to increase home ice advantage.

Furthermore, for those saying that IIHF rinks cause a "slower game", it also lessens the likelihood of hits causing injury by inherently lowering the collision speed, and lessening the chance of dangerous hits near the boards.

[hwy19man]

Originally Posted by Itse

I just want the rink size to be the same everywhere.

The Olympic sized rink is about 13.5 feet wider than the NA rink. Burkes proposal of going 5 feet wider than the NA rink would be a decent compromise.

The Olympic ice surface is 4.57 metres (15 feet) wider.

[hwy19man]

Originally Posted by The Fonz

How about when a player is penalized, he serves the full time in the box, regardless of whether the opposition scores or not. That'd add a couple more mins of PP time to each game.

That used to be the rule. The Habs ultra-effective power play back in the 1950s and 1960s forced the league to change the rule.

[DeluxeMoustache]

Let's just fix icing. Too many barely missed passes are technically icing. The intent of the rule, I assume, is to discourage the defending team from simply firing the puck out of harm's way to alleviate pressure, not to stifle legitimate stretch passes.

Too many perfectly good opportunities are blown down on a technicality when the league says they want to increase scoring

Easy and logical rule change supporting the league's theory with no capital investment

[Itse]

Originally Posted by hwy19man

The Olympic ice surface is 4.57 metres (15 feet) wider.

Thanks for the correction, I looked up the wrong number apparently (or can't do math )

[calgaryboy]

Larger ice rink? No, thanks. That is why I like NHL so much. Intense, fast play. I don ´t like European hockey at all, stopped watching Czech extraleague and other European leagues few seasons ago. Trust me, all of you, who are for wider rinks, all of you would regret that. Wider rink brings most of the time boring, slow hockey, where is time for everything, no need to hurry. Forget about hard, fast forechecking etc. Remember when Nakladal was so suprised with fast and furious play in NHL in preseason games? Like he said in one interview that he was used to have time in his own zone for everything and in NA he doesn ´t have any time? And he played KHL, SM-Liiga, so one of the best leagues in here. Why? Because of wiiiiiide, huuuuuuuge, awful rink like the airport! So no, thanks, as an European, I say NO! And I know what I am talking about, watched tons of European hockey in my life :-) GO FLAMES!!!! Greetings from Czech republic!

[T@T]

Originally Posted by calgaryboy

Larger ice rink? No, thanks. That is why I like NHL so much. Intense, fast play. I don ´t like European hockey at all, stopped watching Czech extraleague and other European leagues few seasons ago. Trust me, all of you, who are for wider rinks, all of you would regret that. Wider rink brings most of the time boring, slow hockey, where is time for everything, no need to hurry. Forget about hard, fast forechecking etc. Remember when Nakladal was so suprised with fast and furious play in NHL in preseason games? Like he said in one interview that he was used to have time in his own zone for everything and in NA he doesn ´t have any time? And he played KHL, SM-Liiga, so one of the best leagues in here. Why? Because of wiiiiiide, huuuuuuuge, awful rink like the airport! So no, thanks, as an European, I say NO! And I know what I am talking about, watched tons of European hockey in my life :-) GO FLAMES!!!! Greetings from Czech republic!

You might be able to answer this. Has there been discussions to shrink the ice over there?