So, without further ado, here is an excerpt of my examination of whether Eric Lindros should be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame:

Lindros,36, retired after the 2006-07 season after he played in only 49 games for the Dallas Stars (that’s right, Lindros played for Dallas remember?) and will be eligible for the HHOF next year as part of a potential class that includes Russian dynamo Pavel Bure and American goalie Mike Richter.  It makes sense that the gun-shot reaction of many hockey fans is to commonly dismiss the notion of Lindros joining recently inducted superstars Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch and Luc Robitaille in the sport’s holiest shrine based on the shortened length of his career (760 regular season games played) and his low rank among the game’s all-time scoring leaders (865 points, presently 105th all time).

Read the entire article here.

Here is an excerpt:

When hockey returned from an extended absence in 2005, one of the major rule changes was the implementation of a shootout if a game was tied after overtime.  Three skaters for each team, followed by a sudden death round the winner.  Hockey purists weren’t thrilled with the changes, but the NHL doesn’t cater to hockey purists.  The NHL is looking (begging) for a new fan base, and this decision was made for the fans.

“From a marketing standpoint, how many times are you seeing the shootout on ESPN?” Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Aaron Ward observed.  ”Just about every day you see the winning goal.”  The best skaters in the world go head-to-head against the best goaltenders in the world to decide the winner of the game.

Debates generally center on whether the shootout format should be used to decide a contest, but it seems the shootout is here to stay, and it is a big hit with fans.  Perhaps the debate should focus on whether the current NHL shootout is the best format for players and fans.  Other professional leagues have different shootout rules.

Read the entire article here.

Here is an excerpt:

While much of the recent news surrounding the NHL and proposed rule changes has centred on the seemingly nightly shots to the head and subsequent injuries, it seems like there is still room for a renewed call to change the icing rules.  Let me be the first to get back on that bandwagon.

The current “touch” icing rule still has its benefits, namely the opportunity for the offensive team to beat the defending team to the puck and create some offense.  However, this risk far outweighs the reward here and there are simply too many instances of defensemen (Kurtis Foster) and forwards (Pat Peake, Patrice Bergeron) getting injured on these plays to justify the continued existence of touch icing.  A race for the puck is great, but a race that ends inches before a solid wall is just foolhardy.  Consider the case of Pat Peake, who shattered his heel when he crashed into the boards chasing down an icing.  The promising junior star played only a handful of games in the NHL as the result of that injury, effectively a career-ender.

Read the entire article here.

March 13, 2012 edit: It appears that the Hotdog Hockey website is down permanently, thankfully, I have gone to archive.org and retrieved Kyle’s post. Read below

While much of the recent news surrounding the NHL and proposed rule changes has centred on the seemingly nightly shots to the head and subsequent injuries, it seems like there is still room for a renewed call to change the icing rules.  Let me be the first to get back on that bandwagon.

The current “touch” icing rule still has its benefits, namely the opportunity for the offensive team to beat the defending team to the puck and create some offense.  However, this risk far outweighs the reward here and there are simply too many instances of defensemen (Kurtis Foster) and forwards (Pat Peake, Patrice Bergeron) getting injured on these plays to justify the continued existence of touch icing.  A race for the puck is great, but a race that ends inches before a solid wall is just foolhardy.  Consider the case of Pat Peake, who shattered his heel when he crashed into the boards chasing down an icing.  The promising junior star played only a handful of games in the NHL as the result of that injury, effectively a career-ender.

That being said, I do not believe that going to the international “no-touch” icing is the way to go either.  Though I, for one, do not buy the notion that it slows the game down, the rule doesn’t provide much excitement (I am sure the league wants to keep the fans coming) and in very rare instances it can negate a scoring chance.  For my money, the system devised by Scott Brand, the United States Hockey League’s Director of Hockey Operations, is the best of both worlds.

This hybrid icing rule, being used in both the United States Hockey League and the Southern Professional Hockey League, offers the safety of no-touch icing and the excitement of touch icing.  Here’s how it works: First, all the basic conditions for an icing call must be met (even strength, puck shot by the defensive team from the defensive zone, no attempt by the goalie to play the puck, etc.).  Second, the leading linesman imagines an imaginary line drawn between the two end-zone face offs dots, parallel to the goal line.  The linesman must simply determine who is winning the race for the puck at this line (a safe distance from the end boards) and either blow the icing call or waive it off.  If the linesman cannot determine who will win the race or it’s a clear tie, the icing will be called as the tie goes to the defender.

As a point of considering, I realize that rule doesn’t automatically prohibit injuries from occurring.  The players can still get tangled up and fall into the boards or get otherwise injured, but this hybrid system does serve to drastically reduce the instances where two (or more) big bodies are hurtling at top speed right up to the boards.  The hybrid rule at least allows a sizeable buffer zone where both parties should be able to stop if not at least slow down significantly.  If nothing else it would (and does) reduce the catastrophic injuries (broken legs, shattered heels, etc.) that you see with the touch icing rule as employed by the NHL.

There seems to be a clear consensus from fans and players alike that it is time to do away with touch icing.  The NHLPA (and many of its’ players), hockey heavyweight Don Cherry, journalists such as Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, bloggers like James Mirtle and even a Facebook group all advocate for a change.  The NHL, notoriously slow to adopt anything new, is not likely to abandon its glacial pace of change when it comes to icing.  So, how does this rule get changed?  This writer thinks the icing change will come when the NHL has finally dealt with head shots, the aforementioned cause du jour for the league.  When a head shots rule is added, the chattering classes will move on to icing when, not if, another player is hurt chasing a puck down and the call for change will be loud enough to convince the NHL to move.

To me, there are very few downsides to this rule.  It provides no real added work or interpretation to the linesmen (other than imagining a line), the players are basically operating under the same touch icing rule they would use should they make it to the NHL and the fans still get the excitement of the race for the puck.  All of this, plus a reduced risk of injury for both forward and defenseman combine to make Brand’s hybrid rule a sure winner.  Right?  Let’s hope so.

Written by Kyle Kosior kyle@illegalcurve.com.

Here is an excerpt:

As someone who lived in Canada for the majority of his life, I had always taken for granted the availability of hockey on pretty much any night of the week.  Even more so, I knew that if I had missed the night’s games then the highlights would be available on any of the sports networks (TSN, The Score, Sportsnet).  So, it becomes something of a culture shock when you move to the US and struggle to find any hockey games on television.  (It should be noted that I live in Michigan, the state responsible for producing the most U.S. born players currently playing in the NHL, so an expectation of nightly hockey seems somewhat legitimate).  Instead I am relegated to tuning into ESPN Sportscenter to see, at most, a quick 5 minute hockey package which usually entails 1-2 minutes of Barry Melrose showing off his mullet and his newest hockey cufflinks.

Read the entire article here.

Here is an excerpt:

What does the future hold for Satellite Hot Stove?  That is a great question, but unfortunately it is an unanswerable question as the future is in the hands of CBC executives, of which I am not one.  What do I want to see, as an avid hockey fan?  That’s simple.  Turn on your television these days, flip on any sporting event, and all you see is throwback jerseys.  The popularity of the Edmonton Oilers blue and orange oil drop jersey, and the San Diego Chargers AFL powder blue jersey prove that retro is cool again.  This needs to be the mantra of the decision makers responsible for Satellite Hot Stove.  Retro is cool, and so the second intermission hot stove needs to get on the retro bandwagon.  I know hockey fans from coast to coast to coast will thank you.

Read the entire article here.

Here is an excerpt:

Brian Burke is a shrewd general manager and surely would not part with two significant assets (the two first round picks) if he thought that even one selection would be in the top ten of the next two NHL entry drafts.  With five of the team’s first seven games at the Air Canada Centre and momentum from a successful pre-season (six wins in nine games), a fast start was almost expected from Leafs Nation.  Well, the opposite has happened.  In fact, the Leafs have not won a game yet this season (0-6-1) and have been outscored by a whopping 18 goals (14 goals for, 32 goals against) in the team’s first seven games.

Read the entire article here.