Say Whaa?

A general managers meeting, that I was not invited to, took place on Sunday, to "attempt to eliminate such hits to players in defenseless positions." That was referring to Chis Pronger's hit on Dean McAmmond in game 3 of the finals (which, due to a 3-2 win last night, the Ducks are leading 3-1), that took him out, and made him unable to play in game 4. The Ducks GM was in favor of a rule being made to prevent hits like that (I think), but was afraid that they would take the hitting out of hockey. The GM of the Sabres, however, said hits like Chris Neil's on Chris Drury (so many Chris's) back in February. The Devils' GM was silent (at least, the Record had no quotes from him.)

Ok, so some GMs want to get rid of hitting all together (which Gary Bettman will probably go for), and Chris Neil needs to get penalized more for his play. Big deal. Suck it up, right? Kind of. That did bother me, but the worst part had to be some of the other topics discussed.

Increasing the size of the net, for more goal scoring. Seriously, the nets are big enough. Maybe I'm just so used to seeing the Devils play, but I'd rather see a low-scoring game with a lot of hits, saves, and blocks than a game where nearly every freaking puck goes in. Would I mind if the size of the net depended on the size of a goalie (as in, giving bigger goalie's less of an advantage)? No, not at all. If you're 6' 6" and 250 pounds, then, yeah, make the net bigger, so there's not as much of an advantage over the opposing goalie. But just increasing the size overall is just plain stupid.

Making minor penalties in regular season OT one minute instead of two. They want that so the teams won't be "extensively punished." Well, why not do the smart thing and just increase OT to 10 minutes or something? I'd rather see that, and less shootouts, although we all know Bettman loves them more than he loves Sidney Crosby. Extend it an extra five minutes, and you'll eliminate quite a few shootouts, and you won't have to make penalties shorter. This way, we all win.

Going four on four in playoff OT. Why? I happen to like games that end up going 7 periods. Just get rid of back to back games, and start 'em about a half hour earlier, and there won't be too much of a problem. OT is supposed to be so exciting and nerve-racking that it gives you ulcers. Getting rid of that extra skater will just make it shorter, and less fun. Although, my heart wouldn't really mind it..Moving on, the Canucks' GM agreed with me. I bet Lou would too.

I should totally take Bettman's place as the commissioner. Or become a GM. Either one works for me.