Comments on: Would you support the move to bigger ice?

By: SabresFan220

SabresFan220 — Thu, 24 May 2012 00:16:09 +0000

The league cannot allow for any teams to have an ice surface that doesn't comply with whatever the regulation size is. Unlike baseball, the size of the ice surface in hockey impacts the entire game, not just one aspect of it. Hockey and baseball are very different sports.

By: blaze

blaze — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:52:17 +0000

Terrible idea I don't understand this inferiority complex with the NHL. Leave the game alone it doesn't need drastic changes constantly.

By: Steven_Leafs

Steven_Leafs — Mon, 21 May 2012 15:09:47 +0000

not the best idea, baseball may have different distances to the back walls but the game is still the same in each field. Same distances from base to base, from pitcher to home plate, etc. Even if the distance for a home run is an extra 20 yards the game is still exactly the same, with the Olympic sized rinks the game will be played completely different. More space to get open, better one-timers, less open ice collisions, these changes affect the game big time.

To me, having only a few arenas go with the Olympic sized rinks is like having only some arenas make the nets bigger or move the blue lines up or down 10 feet. It makes hockey inconsistent and depending on your view, more fair or less fair to some teams who get 41 home games in the new rinks.

By: mojo19

mojo19 — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:37:22 +0000

See my comment above. I don't feel that "every team would have to comply". Why? What's the difference, hockey is hockey. Baseball is baseball. It doesn't matter where you play it. I wish NHL arenas really did all have their own unique feel. I mean, they do to an extent, but it could be so much more.

By: mojo19

mojo19 — Mon, 21 May 2012 12:35:21 +0000

So why do all 30 teams have to switch to Olympic size? What if just 6 or 7 teams (or whatever) change the dimensions of their ice?

Crazy, right? But why not? In major league baseball all the fields have different sizes, different shapes, and leads to different vibes. I think it adds character.

Wouldn't it be kind of cool if the NHL did something like that?

By: SabresFan220

SabresFan220 — Fri, 18 May 2012 19:12:08 +0000

I would support a move to Olympic size ice in the NHL, however I don't think it will happen. There would have to be an extended time period for teams to change their ice surfaces to the new specifications, which includes taking out the 1st few rows of seating in every arena. The league considered the idea decades ago before teams started building new arenas, and every team would've had to comply with it in any new arena, but they decided not to do it.

I think the only players who would complain about the change are the bigger, slower players who wouldn't be able to keep up. However, the NHL likes physical play too, and I would miss seeing some of the big, clean, open ice hits.

By: FlamingHomer

FlamingHomer — Fri, 18 May 2012 13:48:47 +0000

It's not an easy transition for 30 teams to turn their arenas into Olympic size venues over the course of a summer. Cutting to the chase, an easier solution to many of the recent problems the league is facing would be to reduce the number of skaters to 4 like they do in overtime.

That's a drastic change but what it will do is this:

- it removes the bottom 4 players from the roster saving wages and increasing the average skill level.
- quite often it's the bottom level players that cause the severe violations of the rules so that should improve
- more room on the ice reduces chances for incidental and intentional career ending collisions
- more goal scoring
- more emphasis on using skilled, faster players. Older players will have to leave the game sooner.

There are other advantages as well but I'm at work so I have to cut it short.

By: reinjosh

reinjosh — Fri, 18 May 2012 12:38:42 +0000

It would definitely cut down on injuries. Bigger ice surfaces mean more room to move right? At least I think it would. It would also focus more on the skill aspect of the game. I do think it would effect the speed of the game however. That's one of the biggest differences between teh NHL and other leagues and that is in large part because of the speed. Would losing that speed make the sport more or less interesting to watch?

1) Probably yes. I don't think it would be one of the worse changes in the league.

2) Probably not. For owners it would represent a cost in changing the size of the arena. Players might be ambivalent but I think a lot of guys from NA would be against it as they've grown up playing on normal size rinks and that sort of change does fundamentally shift the game played.

3) My thought is no. It could be done but I'm not sure it would be easy and it would likely cut into profits for teams. Cutting out a row of the most expensive seats in the arena could harm them.