Comments on: Five for Fighting: Leafs Goaltending, Leafs Youngsters, What Laraques is Cookin, and NHL Rule Changes http://theondeckcircle.net/2009/10/16/2984/ The Unofficial Home for Real Talk Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:31:23 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Jdunks http://theondeckcircle.net/2009/10/16/2984/comment-page-1/#comment-2123 Jdunks Mon, 19 Oct 2009 05:49:43 +0000 http://theondeckcircle.net/?p=2984#comment-2123 "you need to put the breakaway back in the game"... I'm not sure it ever really left. If anything there are more breakaways now than when lafontaine was playing because of the removal of the two-line pass. I feel as though Lafontaine's suggestions would yield a little more strategy at the end of a close game, but are far too radical to be taken seriously. Making the punishment for penalties different depending on the situation would really alter the dynamic of the game. It seems like the type of rule an XFL-type NHL wannabe would try to instate. That being said I think one rule the NHL should impose (and it seems weird they haven't yet) is the option for a team to decline a penalty shot and take a powerplay instead. That would add some more strategy (albeit on very rare occasions) since there are several situations when a powerplay would be beneficial over a penalty shot (like late in a close game or when the player who drew the penalty shot was a non-scorer etc). “you need to put the breakaway back in the game”… I’m not sure it ever really left. If anything there are more breakaways now than when lafontaine was playing because of the removal of the two-line pass. I feel as though Lafontaine’s suggestions would yield a little more strategy at the end of a close game, but are far too radical to be taken seriously. Making the punishment for penalties different depending on the situation would really alter the dynamic of the game. It seems like the type of rule an XFL-type NHL wannabe would try to instate.

That being said I think one rule the NHL should impose (and it seems weird they haven’t yet) is the option for a team to decline a penalty shot and take a powerplay instead. That would add some more strategy (albeit on very rare occasions) since there are several situations when a powerplay would be beneficial over a penalty shot (like late in a close game or when the player who drew the penalty shot was a non-scorer etc).

]]>