Why Hockey Sucks

Right now I’m watching game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals, and as I watch it, I’m thinking of all the reasons why no one watches hockey. The NHL should try some more changes to spice up hockey because no one watches it anyway, what do they have to lose? All of the last rule changes were put there to make hockey more entertaining except some may argue less fighting is less entertainment. Why not add more entertainment? Here are some creative solutions, which will never happen.

The puck. Hockey is hard to follow for two reasons. One is the puck, and one is the camera angles, which I’ll get to next. The puck is so small, and the players shoot is so fast that it is hard to follow, especially against the backdrop of the crowd. Also, players are constantly tied up in the boards battling with opposing players with the puck somewhere in between. No one wants to watch a sport where it is impossible to follow the ball/puck during the most exciting time (shots/goals). This is such a problem that FOX tried to give the puck a tail for the viewers so they could follow. This is a tough fix because FOX is still laughed at today by the media for trying this. I think the NHL should switch to a neon puck for a week and see what happens.

Camera angles. Hockey is also hard to follow because of the poor camera angles. There is essentially one camera during play that pans left and right when teams are attacking. The puck is already hard enough to see against the backdrop of the crowd, and then combine that with a shaky camera quickly shifting to the goal after a shot makes it near impossible to follow a slapshot. Only when a player is in between the goal and the camera is it possible to follow a goal. No one wants to figure out how a goal happened on the replay. People want to be able to see the deflections as they are happening and understand real-time, not after six different replay angles in slow motion.

Fighting. Fighting is one of the stupidest parts of hockey. What would get a one year suspension in the NBA and some sort of suspension in the NFL is welcomed in hockey with refs taking on a second job transforming into a wrestling referee. Fighting gives each player involved some time in the penalty box for 4-on-4 even strength hockey. Players never get hurt in these fights, injuries more often occur from cheap shots and pucks to the face. They are similar to fights in baseball but much more frequent. People who say they go to a hockey game to see fights, which occurs much more often in minor leagues, need to really get out and look for something more. No one attends football, basketball, or baseball games to see people fight. Bruisers do have a place in hockey, they protect stars and give a team a physical presence. But calling the scuffles fighting though is probably too strong a word. No one with that much padding on skates is rarely going to do that much damage. Instead hockey should try to limit fighting as much as possible with the referee breaking up the fight as quickly as he can.

Play behind the goal. Easily one of the more frustrating parts of a hockey game. Players can fight behind a goal kicking at a puck and pushing each other because they are too close to use their sticks to get to a puck. Wrap around goals would be lost, but so many more opportunities could be made if the boards were in line with the goal, similar to indoor soccer. Players could create numerous opportunities in each game by getting creative and throwing the puck off the wall closer to the goal.

Open up that net. The NHL has already reduced parts of the goalie pads and regulated clothing a goalie can wear, why not open up that net too? Make the net 10% wider or so and let the scoring begin. Lacrosse is quickly gaining popularity in America, and they have a wide goal, why not hockey?

Time to go catch the end of the game on NBC, home of sports such as Notre Dame football and NHL hockey finals.