Thoughts on the NHL Lockout -Part 2

Just to continue my last post...

• If the Lockout Leads to Contraction of a Few Teams, the NHL Will Return to the Exciting 1980's Style of Play

This opinion is almost farcical, yet it's spouted almost everytime the lockout is discussed. In fact this is the polar opposite of the truth. The style of play in today's NHL may be boring on some nights, but it isn't due to a lack of skill or too many teams, it's that in today's NHL skill and technical level is superior to anytime in it's history. The Oilers of the 1980's thrived because on most nights the teams they faced were far less talented and on most nights poorly conditioned and coached. The haves and have-nots of the league were miles apart in every category, and some teams did not even scout in Europe and missed out on the first wave of talented overseas draft picks in the early 80's. The number one cause of run and gun hockey and high scoring games was DISPARITY.

That said, the biggest myth is that the NHL of the 1980's was a Golden Age where every single game was exciting and the fans were constantly entertained. Who are these people that bore witness to this Golden Age? In the early 80's most fans in Canada saw two games a week. Hockey Night In Canada showed one game a week, and it was contractually stated that it had to be Toronto or Montreal playing, none of the former WHA teams were initially entitled to be shown. Mid week games were available, in this market ITV showed about 20 Oiler games a year, but that was it for the local fan. Local late night sports shows showed no more than a couple highlights a night and there were no national sports channels. So tell me how on earth anyone who didn't have a C Band Dish can have any opinion on this? Of course the games looked exciting, you only ever saw the best plays on highlight reels, hence the name highlight. No one wants to think about a midweek game between maybe Pittsburgh and Washington or LA and Detroit when they were some of the worst teams in history, no one wants to remember a playoff home game in Vancouver that drew less than 5000 fans against the Oilers because the local team was so bad, no one ever clamors for an old Norris Division matchup on ESPN Classic, the Norris Division that routinely went through the season with every team below .500. I can think of only 3 goalies from that era who managed to make it into the Hall of Fame; Billy Smith, Grant Fuhr and Tom Barrasso. Truly a Golden Age....

The plain truth of the matter is that contraction would tighten up the current parity even further. The only way to increase excitement in this climate is to add intensity. Everyone says that the Ducks vs. Devils final of two years ago was boring, but only because no one cared. If the teams had been Toronto and Vancouver, which was a possibility at the time, this country would have been electric because it would have mattered. Let the league add intensity by changing the schedule and eliminating games between the conferences. More games against less teams means more rivalries and more fan interest as the teams become more familiar. Who cares to see Pittsburgh or Atlanta once a year when here in Edmonton you could see more of Calgary, Vancouver and Dallas and more hostility and intensity.