Let's have some fun in bashing the NHL a bit, shall we? Do not get me wrong, there is no better sport and I enjoy hockey as much as the next guy, but there are some things that should be assessed by Col. Bettman and his troops, so let's take a look at my top 10 NHL issues. — Trent Kondo, Pro Sports Blogging
 

As we have seen all of last year and even more so in the playoffs, the officiating is off the wall. Since moving from one referee and two linesmen to two and two, the on-ice officials have seemingly gotten worse. They have added instant replay to help these donks out to at least get the goals correct, which I have no problem with. The refereeing is so bad now that many hockey fans are stating that there are actual conspiracies against their respective teams and I don't blame them. Did anyone watch the Canucks vs. Kings series? I have never seen such dreadful officiating.

In one instance they are calling everything and moving on to another period they let them all play and do what they want. Consistency folks, that's what we are looking for here. Look at baseball. The umpire will establish his strike zone and more less call that zone for the entire game, if he does not he will get managers/players beaking them face to face drooling slobber all over each other.

While many will disagree with me on this one, the shootout is one of the most ridiculous ways to decide an outcome to a game I have ever seen. Since when should individual skills after a hard-fought 60 minutes of hockey decide positions in standings, let alone a playoff spot? Idiotic.

Why not save this gimmickry for All-Star games? How about we give a team that wins a game in regulation or overtime three points for a win. If a team loses in the overtime give them 1 point. Have a 10-minute 4-on-4 overtime period or even 5-on-5 for that matter.

Do we see baseball trying to speed the game up by having a home run derby if two teams are tied after nine innings?

Do we see basketball having a 3-point shootout or slam dunk contest to determine a winner after being tied after 4 quarters?

Do we see football having a field goal contest from the 50 yard line after the game is tied?

Of course not. Drop the shootout.

Are you kidding me? "Quiet Lou," they call him and they still name him the captain of the team. Everyone, including some Vancouver Canucks fans, heckled the 'Nucks' brass for deciding this and they are considering changing captains. Once again, this was yet another media hype to perhaps bring attention to the Vancouver base and start a media frenzy at that time, and it did. Now the Canucks more than likely want a new captain. Brilliant.

I am sure Luongo leads by example with his work ethic and his lectures for his team, but let's take a look at one item during a game. If the coach wants the captain to go speak to the referee about a call, does he scream and say "Roberto, go talk to the referee about that call at the penalty box!" Luongo replies, "Alain, I can't leave my crease nor go past the blueline to speak with them. Can you get someone else?"

This subject could be debated on and on forever, but once again there is no consistency in decisions made on "suspendable" situations.

If there is a blatant attempt on injuring another player, that player doing so should have the book thrown at him regardless if he is a repeat offender or not. Any penalty deemed an attempt to injure should have a mandatory five-game suspension or whatever they decide should be the set amount of games. If the same player keeps doing it over and over again, well just write his name down in the little black book and if he keeps on doing it suspend him for the year or from the NHL entirely. Headhunters do not have a place in today's game.

They complain about injuries to players yet they keep touch icing in the game. How many times have we seen players get injured when chasing down a puck after it was iced by the opposite team and then getting smashed into oblivion from an opposing player trying to beat the defender to the puck?

Sometimes it's intentional, such as the Alex Ovechkin hit on Brian Campbell or the James Wisniewski hit on brent Seabrook and sometimes it's not. (My apologies, as I know both are against 'Hawks players, but those were the first to come to mind.) Take the touch icing out and just blow the play down immediately when it is iced.

The NHL implemented this to induce forechecking and more scoring chances, but it is still ridiculous. I think it was just something to limit great puck handlers like Martin Brodeur or Marty Turco and perhaps protect their priceless goaltenders from being crushed. If the goaltender decides to play the puck, that is his perogative and knows he may be hit. They should be fair game and heck they are mostly all big goaltenders with and additional 100 pounds or so of equipment on. It's no different than a defenseman coming around the boards and attempting to play a puck and an opposing player going to hit that player. Take out those ridiculous little chunks of ice that restrict where goaltenders can touch a puck. It's ridiculous.

OK, so these sticks are fantastic, lightweight and give you superior shot velocity, right? Al Iafrate had the slap-shot record for 16 years until recently that record was broken by Zdeno Chara. Iafrate was 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. Chara is 6-foot-9 and 260 pounds. See what I am getting at? It all comes down if you can shoot the puck or not.

Sure the composite sticks may have more flex or what have you, but come on now. How many times have we seen one of those sticks break if the player just attempts a lightweight pass? Either the manufacturers of these sticks must figure out how to make these sticks more durable or go back to the good old wooden sticks. These composite sticks break with a gentle tap from an opposing player, and now it's a penalty if the stick breaks. Dumb.

The NHL should go back to having the top eight teams at the end of the year in each conference be the teams in the playoffs. Having a division-winner automatically get one of the top three spots in the conference doesn't work. Let's say that specific team wins the division with an under-par winning percentage or even a low point total. It is not out of the realm of possibility.

Why do we have divisions anyway? For the rivalries? Rivalries go year-to-year because they sputter out when one of the teams goes into rebuilding mode. Now you see more cross-country rivals such as Chicago and Vancouver and less of Edmonton and Calgary. Get rid of divisions and just go to conferences and have the top eight teams make the playoffs.

Not much to say about this one, but it is annoying. The NHL claims it is better for teams like Edmonton and Pittsburgh to only meet once a year because of traveling issues. Come on, NHL. You send teams over to Europe, for crying out loud, to start the season and you say travel is a big issue?

I'm not going to elaborate on this one too much, but how about we let the on-ice officials decide if it was an intentional clearing of the puck over the boards or not. Yes, I know it is asking a lot from our "highly qualified" referees, but in some instances it is not intentional and should not be deemed a two-minute minor.

Any thoughts or arguments on the above issues? They are, of course, very debatable issues but some of these should really be addressed in some sort of manner. Especially the gimmickry. If you have any issues that you would like to be heard about please use the comment box below or email directly at TkonHockey@Gmail.com.