I’m not one for New Years resolutions but I decided to throw out some ideas I would would like to see the NHL consider for 2007.
Bring back ESPN- Sorry I still can’t find VS.
The benefits of having the NHL on ESPN are obvious. There is no need to continue to hammer home those points once again. At least do it for Gary Thorne and Barry “I’m tired of talking about basketball” Melrose. I miss the excitement of a Thorne called NHL game. I’m taking a wild guess here I know, but I would think more people would have a chance to see Sidney Crosby play if games were aired on ESPN rather than VS.
More Fights- I had a former NHL tough guy tell me the other day that today’s NHL players have no idea what tough is.
I don’t completely agree, but I certainly understand his point. Fans love fights, fans want fights!
Get rid of the instigator and get back to what made hockey popular to begin with when players policed themselves. I guarantee that stick work and cheap shots would drastically decline if the instigator were eliminated.
Call me a fool, but I assume fans enjoy fighting in hockey when every time a fight breaks out the entire building is on their feet. The league doesn’t need to promote it, but they also shouldn’t see it as a black eye. You’ve got to give the fans what they want.
No more phantom calls-The one handed hooking penalties need to go. We all know what were talking about here. The calls when you say “How the !%$# is that a penalty?” I t makes the game look cheap. This is a contact sport; these calls do nothing but stop the game and make the players look soft. I have no issue with the other calls; no doubt the cut down of the clutching and grabbing has been a major positive.
More Trades- Untie the GM’s hands so that there can be more trades. I completely understand why there are so few many, most clubs don’t have cap room to make a move. In 2007 changes should be made to enable teams to swap players.
The Blues will not be looking to make any moves anytime soon. Several teams have called recently to inquire about certain players. The basis for doing this is so teams know who will be availble come February. Clubs need to begin preparing for the trade deadline now in order to figure out how to add certain players and still stay under the salary cap. There is some slight interest in Blues center/winger Petr Cajanek
If you’re a team in either the Northeast or Pacific division you should hope to see less of the Buffalo sabers or the Anaheim Ducks in 2007.
Here’s to Toronto who are fighting for their playoff lives but still have six games remaining against Buffalo. Not the ideal way to begin the New Year.
The World Junior Championships- If you can’t sell a certain number of tickets by a selected date then that country should not be allowed to host the World Junior Championships. It doesn’t add up right when future NHL stars are playing in front of 150 people.
You get more fans at the North American Silver Stick championships or the Chicago Showcase Tournament than what we’ve seen thus far in Sweden. Unless Sweden is playing of course.
Shootout changes- Players should have the option to remove his helmet prior to attempting a shootout shot. This would give NHL players more exposure and visibility especially on the late night highlight shows.
Expand the shootout to five shooters as opposed to three. This one I’ve never understood.
Penguins don’t leave Pittsburgh- They belong right where they are. I predict they stay and strike a deal at the last minute. If they move, Mario should seriously consider Kansas City. The have the new building with all 72 suites already sold. If K.C were to try to go the expansion route they would need to pay the NHL a $150 million dollar fee. Back when Nashville and Colombus entered the league the fee was $50 million.
Bring back the TV show “The Tournament” to VS. I need to know if Robbie McConnell made it to the bigs!
The show was awesome, you remember when Robbie’s father added an extension to the house just so his son could play for the team in the next district? They lived right on the border. They had to add like 50 feet to make Robbie eligible to play for the next team over.
I say this only because I don’t think the American public is quite ready for the “Trailer Park Boys!” Absolutely Hilarious stuff.
These futuristic sweaters are horrendous! These kids playing in the World Juniors look like they showed up to participate in the Tour De France! I can’t believe the NHL is considering this for next season. Please don’t do this. Can you please leave some of the tradition left in the NHL alone? The jerseys are fine.
If you have to look futuristic have the players pimp their skates, not pimp their jerseys!
Proper recognition- Maybe in 2007 the St. Louis Blues will consistently find themselves on the front page of the sports section in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. It seems only when the news is negative the Blues find themselves on the front page.
Here’s to Phil Kessel having a full and speedy recovery and gets back to playing in the National Hockey League very soon!
Speaking of Pimp My Skates, which you can find at www.totalhockey.net, Ryan Smyth of the Edmonton Oilers has been sporting the black ones. Smyth will be wearing the royal blue pair when the Oilers wear their throw back jersey later this season. Doug Weight has been wearing the black colored ones most of the year.
A maroon pair has been shipped out to Brad may. Word is Paul Kariya also likes the product and several other NHL players are very intrigued by the Pimp My Skates hype. Check it out for yourself.
Blues Clues!
Goltender Curtis Sanford skated for the first time last Wednesday since tearing his groin. He is hoping to skate with his pads on Sunday or Monday. Sanford feels he could return in 3-4 weeks.
The Blues will be releasing season ticket plans for next season very soon. Look for ticket prices to be reduced. Yes I said reduced.
I know the sales staff has been working hard to sell tickets, but like I’ve have always said winning hockey games is what will bring the fans back.
The sales staff should be thanking Head Coach Andy Murray, the players, and President John Davidson for the recent boost in attendance. It hasn’t been that long since every home game had 17,0000 fans minimum.
Sources tell me that two free agents the Blues will hope to bring back next season are forwards Jamal Mayers and Radek Dvorak. They will both become unrestricted on July first.
Jay McClement, was recently given an instigator penalty after he went after Nashville’s Jordin Tootoo in a game last week. McClement and Tootoo were line mates for team Canada when they played in the World Junior Tournament together.
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Nathan Paetsch recently told me that Barett Jackman is pound for pound the toughest player he has ever played against. The two faced each other several times in the Western Hockey League.
More to come,
Andy Strickland
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St Louis Blues Blogger •1380 ESPN • 
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