Shell
06-24-2003, 09:55 AM
Tue, June 24, 2003
Coaches play by new rules
By AL STRACHAN, Toronto Sun
NASHVILLE -- There's a battle brewing between the National Hockey League's coaches and the league itself. The coaches feel that the league is dragging its heels on rule changes that could return some excitement to the game.
The league's stance -- as represented by the general managers and the executive level -- is the usual one: The game is great and we don't want to make any substantive changes.
The coaches have never been much of an organized voice in the NHL, but times are changing.
RESPECT
They have formed an association and, although they have yet to be accorded the respect they feel they deserve (the GMs' meetings were listed on the schedule of draft-weekend events but the coaches' wasn't) they are starting to become more militant.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman attended the coaches' meeting and heard them make it clear that they want to have some say in the rules.
They are the ones, they say, who have to deal with these rules on a daily basis. The rules affect the strategy of the game and therefore, the success of a coach, so they see it as a mistake to leave these matters to the GMs with some occasional slight input from the players.
The coaches want to see a number of rule changes, all inter-related and all with the intent of increasing the number of scoring chances.
Obviously, a crackdown on the size of goalie equipment is the first step, and although the league hasn't said it in so many words, there will definitely be a new rule in place next season to limit the height of leg pads.
Everyone except league officials realizes that the chest padding should be reduced as well. There might be some movement in that regard but not as much as the fans would like.
But the coaches also want to limit the goaltenders' freedom to roam, citing the extreme examples of Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils and Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars. They're more reliable than some defencemen when it comes to getting into the corner and clearing the puck.
It's a strategy that kills the forecheck, relieves pressure and generally turns the game into tedium.
The coaches offer a number of possible rule changes for the GMs to consider:
They could limit a goalies' movement to a small area near the crease. They could ban forward passes by goalies -- or go even further and make it illegal for them to play the puck behind the goal line.
The concept of a goalie being fair game once he's out of his crease could be reintroduced. He should at least lose the status he now holds where incidental contact by a forward is considered to be interference.
At the same time, the goal line should be moved back a foot or two to decrease the amount of space available behind the net.
It was moved out in a misguided attempt to help the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. In fact, it did no such thing. It simply made the neutral zone smaller, thereby increasing the congestion there.
There was a theory that skilled forwards could weave their way around defencemen behind the net and create scoring chances. But defencemen don't go back there anymore. They simply stand in front of the crease where there's so much traffic that a puck can't get through the maze of legs, sticks and bodies.
And as part of the rule-change package, the coaches would like to see the return of the tag-up rule, which allows attackers to come out of the zone after the puck crosses the blue line.
TRAP
There are fewer stoppages with that rule and, as a result, it's more difficult to establish the trap. Players have to get back into position, or replace a teammate while play continues, whereas after a stoppage, they simply go to their designated spots.
These are a few of the coaches' ideas and for the most part, they coincide with the views of the fans. But that doesn't mean the people who make the rules will ever implement them.
Coaches play by new rules
By AL STRACHAN, Toronto Sun
NASHVILLE -- There's a battle brewing between the National Hockey League's coaches and the league itself. The coaches feel that the league is dragging its heels on rule changes that could return some excitement to the game.
The league's stance -- as represented by the general managers and the executive level -- is the usual one: The game is great and we don't want to make any substantive changes.
The coaches have never been much of an organized voice in the NHL, but times are changing.
RESPECT
They have formed an association and, although they have yet to be accorded the respect they feel they deserve (the GMs' meetings were listed on the schedule of draft-weekend events but the coaches' wasn't) they are starting to become more militant.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman attended the coaches' meeting and heard them make it clear that they want to have some say in the rules.
They are the ones, they say, who have to deal with these rules on a daily basis. The rules affect the strategy of the game and therefore, the success of a coach, so they see it as a mistake to leave these matters to the GMs with some occasional slight input from the players.
The coaches want to see a number of rule changes, all inter-related and all with the intent of increasing the number of scoring chances.
Obviously, a crackdown on the size of goalie equipment is the first step, and although the league hasn't said it in so many words, there will definitely be a new rule in place next season to limit the height of leg pads.
Everyone except league officials realizes that the chest padding should be reduced as well. There might be some movement in that regard but not as much as the fans would like.
But the coaches also want to limit the goaltenders' freedom to roam, citing the extreme examples of Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils and Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars. They're more reliable than some defencemen when it comes to getting into the corner and clearing the puck.
It's a strategy that kills the forecheck, relieves pressure and generally turns the game into tedium.
The coaches offer a number of possible rule changes for the GMs to consider:
They could limit a goalies' movement to a small area near the crease. They could ban forward passes by goalies -- or go even further and make it illegal for them to play the puck behind the goal line.
The concept of a goalie being fair game once he's out of his crease could be reintroduced. He should at least lose the status he now holds where incidental contact by a forward is considered to be interference.
At the same time, the goal line should be moved back a foot or two to decrease the amount of space available behind the net.
It was moved out in a misguided attempt to help the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. In fact, it did no such thing. It simply made the neutral zone smaller, thereby increasing the congestion there.
There was a theory that skilled forwards could weave their way around defencemen behind the net and create scoring chances. But defencemen don't go back there anymore. They simply stand in front of the crease where there's so much traffic that a puck can't get through the maze of legs, sticks and bodies.
And as part of the rule-change package, the coaches would like to see the return of the tag-up rule, which allows attackers to come out of the zone after the puck crosses the blue line.
TRAP
There are fewer stoppages with that rule and, as a result, it's more difficult to establish the trap. Players have to get back into position, or replace a teammate while play continues, whereas after a stoppage, they simply go to their designated spots.
These are a few of the coaches' ideas and for the most part, they coincide with the views of the fans. But that doesn't mean the people who make the rules will ever implement them.