The NHL Players' Association won't like this idea, but why not five-on-five all the time?

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      One of the National Hockey League's most inspired decisions was reducing the number of players on the ice during regular-season overtime periods.

      Last night, that was obvious to anyone who saw Canucks captain Henrik Sedin skate up the open ice and send a perfect pass to the stick of Chris Tanev, who fired a shot below the blocker of Flames goalie Jonas Hiller to win the game 3-2.

      The five-on-five match-up (including goalies) gives room for superb skaters to fly around the ice with fewer obstructions.

      It makes sense in an era where players are far bigger, faster, and work shorter shifts than in bygone eras.

      I've been thinking about this since seeing video clips of Jean Beliveau highlights. The former Canadiens captain had so much more room on the ice than the modern generation of players, who get smacked around far more often.

      It's because it was a different game in Beliveau's era.

      The NHL changed forever for the worse in the mid 1970s with the success of Philadelphia's Broad Street Bullies. They showed that gooning opponents paid off.

      The best solution to improve the NHL would be to create international-size ice surfaces. But that will never happen because NHL owners will never want to lose revenue by giving up more seats in their buildings.

      So the next-best approach might be to reduce the number of players on the ice by one—notwithstanding all the howls this will elicit from the NHL Players' Association.

      As things stand now, hockey is becoming the ice version of soccer, with too many games having too few goals, providing too little entertainment for the fans.

      Having four skaters and a goalie on the ice at all times would elevate the risk for teams that play dirty. That's because they would be more susceptible to letting in power-play goals every time one of their guys was in the penalty box.

      Going to five-on-five all the time would likely make the game far more popular in southern U.S. markets, bringing in higher TV ratings and greater revenues.

      To hell with tradition.

      Comments

      14 Comments

      Goon

      Dec 21, 2014 at 11:40am

      It already is five-on-five. You mean four-on-four all the time.

      And, yes, that is a really, really stupid idea. Each team fields 18 players and 2 goalies every game. If you make it 4-on-4 all the time, that means less ice time for guys who are already currently getting about 8 minutes a game, not to mention fucking up the entire concept of a line. You would have to retool the entire concept of the game, throwing away generations of hockey tradition just to appease those who don't think there are enough goals (namely, those who never gave a shit about hockey, and never will give a shit about hockey no matter how many goals there are).

      Considering that soccer is the most popular sport in the world, we should see that as meaning the game is more important than the score. Fuck the Southern US if they don't like it. It's our game.

      RUK

      Dec 21, 2014 at 1:56pm

      Goon, I don't care about scrubs, why do you?

      As a student of the game, you must have remembered that during the first lockout, the NHLPA organized a demonstration game featuring lots of innovations to spread up game plays foremost being no-faceoff icing and offside (simple switch of possession and clearing the zone), penalty shots instead of penalties, and of course four on four. This is what the NHLPA thought would be a faster, more entertaining game. I enjoyed the heck out of it.

      The game has already survived the loss of the rover and the addition of forward passing and the right of goalies to grab the puck. I think it can survive moving to four on four.

      Not a Goon

      Dec 21, 2014 at 2:00pm

      Despite your comment on a bigger rink, that truly is the only solution. 5 on 5 (including goalies) is boring hockey.

      Fan

      Dec 21, 2014 at 2:38pm

      Actually no I believe that he meant 5 on 5 as right now it is actually 6 on 6 if one counts the goalies.

      You would have to shorten the benches, and get rid of 3 or 4 forwards which is why the union would meet go for it. I think that it would make for a better game (coming from a life long fan), but it is a bit of a pie in the sky idea at this point.

      William

      Dec 21, 2014 at 5:39pm

      Based on my lifetime attendance total of one NHL game (November 3rd this year, NY Rangers vs St Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden), I think the game is in great shape.

      True, the bit where two players tore off their gloves and unsuccessfully tried to punch each other out for a while was a bit weird, and the non-intervention of the officials utterly bizarre, but the rest of the game was fast, exciting, and well worth the price of admission.

      This outsider suggests you don't mess with it.

      bubba

      Dec 21, 2014 at 11:02pm

      completely disagree. the issue isn't the amount of players on the ice, it's the terrible reffing that has let detroit style obstruction and interference creep back into the game uncalled. soccer's low scoring for a reason, and it's not a bad one. it gives every goal so much more value. stop the holding, the obstruction, the blocking and uncalled crosschecks to non puck carriers. if you want more scoring, go watch lacrosse, i'll take a nap instead.

      Barry Gettman

      Dec 21, 2014 at 11:13pm

      Dumb idea. Will never happen.

      James Blatchford

      Dec 22, 2014 at 7:56am

      Two words: bigger nets.

      400 ppm

      Dec 22, 2014 at 8:57am

      Wanna change hockey? Stop giving it your money and your attention for a season.

      Sammy 27

      Dec 22, 2014 at 9:44am

      First, I still think a tie game after 60 minutes is a result. This OT and shootout stuff is to appease Americans who feel there should be a winner and a loser, that life has no middle ground. You can still see lots of skill in a 6 on 6 game. 5 on 5 shows more offensive flair but makes it look more like a beer league game.