FOR NHL, BIGGER NOT BETTER
MORE TEAMS WILL FURTHER
DILUTE TALENT

November 8, 1998

Not long ago, Ethan Moreau made a huge
assumption. After the Hawks missed the
playoffs last spring, he said he "almost felt
embarrassed to walk around the city."

If Moreau meant this city, he needn't fret.
He and his teammates could drive down
Michigan Avenue hanging from a Zamboni
and spitting out souvenir pucks without
creating much of a stir, let alone being
recognized.

That doesn't make Moreau a bad guy, or
even a bad player. It's just another
unfortunate commentary on a terrific sport
that can't quite keep up with great
expectations, largely because of the people
mismanaging it.

Recall that the NHL suspended operations in
February to ship its players to the Winter
Olympics halfway around the world for the
expressed purpose of promoting the league
and exposing its stars to a global audience.

In fact, while much of North America slept,
our heroes posted miniscule TV numbers via
tape delay. Only later did we discover that
U.S. pros were so taken by the experience
that they attempted to regain their amateur
standing by engaging in the fire-extinguisher
toss.

The cultural-exchange program bombed, so
NHL moguls tried another trick: rewriting
rules to enliven a game that has survived
quite well, thank you, without artificial stimuli
for much of this century. Alas, scoring in
1998 is down anyway, below even last
season's anemic figures.

Now here's the next crisis. Despite the NBA
lockout, pro hockey has failed to seize the
opportunity. There is no evidence
whatsoever that Bulls fans have converted to
Blackhawks fans; nor are there any
discernible crossover patterns being detected
in any other market, minor or major.

Perhaps the NHL should let it all hang out in
the name of Yankee ingenuity. Have three
referees for every game to ensure more
whistles, move the nets up to each blue line
to provide even more skating room, and
expand to 50 franchises by the year 2000,
but only 46 qualify for the playoffs.

It's either that for the knee-jerk NHL, or the
frightening alternative. Which would be:
Forget about luring fans you don't have into
rinks and worry about entertaining the fans
you do have. Instead of selling tickets in
Tokyo, sell them on Long Island. Don't
disguise the game, improve it.

Pretty drastic stuff, but it might work.

Mario Lemieux couldn't wait to retire, and
when he did, he blasted the NHL as "football
on skates." Brett Hull, still playing, still calls it
"rodeo on ice." Wayne Gretzky, after two
decades, still stands out like a sore thumb
because so many players around him have
alabaster hands.

The game, you see, requires two skills.
There's skating and then there's hockey. Too
many players now simply are incapable of
doing both, yet to camouflage the problem,
the NHL seeks to manufacture a scenario
whereby scoring will increase. Caution:
About 60 years ago, there was a goal
shortage, and so the offside rule was
abandoned. But not for long. The new
legislation didn't make it through the season.

Putting the puck in the net is an art not easily
taught or learned. Revising history, or the
rule book, isn't the solution for a 3-hour,
penalty-strewn 1-0 taffy pull.

If the league wants to make the game better,
it shouldn't think about eliminating the red
line. Eliminate Nashville. Then Columbus and
Atlanta. Halt expansion until the supply of
quality athletes equals the demand. The more
expensive the product, the more it is
cheapened. Enough, already.

Hockey, the fastest and best spectator sport
of all, is being slowed to a crawl by too many
players who lack talent and too many
administrators who lack vision. Dilution is
evident throughout professional sports, but it
is particularly obvious in hockey, which used
to be the most fun of all to watch.

Can we honestly say that anymore? Even in
Chicago, where hockey fans, unlike many
basketball fans, go to games to see, not be
seen?

The NHL doesn't need more gimmicks, more
rules, or more teams. The NHL needs more
care.