The NHL Playoffs have begun and have already provided some very exciting hockey games. It is amazing how much the quality of play increases dramatically once the playoffs begin. It is noticeable from the first game all the way to the finals.
I heard a discussion on radio today on what can be done to increase the drama and quality of the regular season. I've always had two ideas that I think would make a significant difference:
1. There was a time when there were 21 teams in the league, and 16 made the playoffs. It was a joke. Now that there are 30 teams and the conference set up, it is much more legitimate. However, I believe we can increase the significance of the regular season by cutting it to 12. That's 6 in each conference. They can then give the top 2 teams in each conference a first round bye like the NFL does. If you thought this year's parity made the playoff race exciting, think of how much more exciting it would be if more teams were fighting for fewer playoff spots.
2. Get rid of the consolation point. The set up now is 2 points for a win, and 1 for an overtime loss. Make it all or nothing. A win for one team, a loss for the other. Baseball, football, and basketball do it this way. Why not hockey? Overtime and the shootout are exciting ways to end games. Think of how much better they would be if one team got everything and the other nothing. There would be more to win and more to lose, resulting in more tension and excitiment.
These are my suggestions. Although the league has tended to make much better decisions in recent years, I am not sure they would even consider something like this.
What do you think? I would love to hear your suggestions on how the quality gap between regular season and playoffs in the NHL can be improved. Please share!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment