Rule Changes, A Historic Draft, and Boy, Does Asham Love the Atlantic Division

I would like to post a few times a week. However I've been busy moving and finishing up my summer classes. It hasn't been a busy week but there still have been some important events.

• A host of potential rules changed were reviewed at the research and development camp held by Brendan Shanahan, who is now the NHL's Vice President of Hockey and Business Development. NHL brass is getting innovative with their ideas for the game, combining old rules and new ideas. Here are a few they looked at. 
• I really like the idea of players having to serve a full two minute penalty. It seems odd that the NHL was once trying to curb offence, but now they are swinging the other way its about time this rule was reinstated. 
• Hybrid icing, in which the referee can call icing when the players reach the faceoff circle if the defending player is the first to get there. This is just common sense and should have been thought of, and implemented, years ago. Then there would be even fewer unnecessary injuries, such as the one to Kurtis Foster.
• Wider bluelines and a shallower net would increase the size of the offensive zones, giving players more room to work with. They also looked at having once faceoff circle in each zone, directly in front of the goalie. I really can't see that affecting the game too much but an idea is an idea and at least it shows they are thinking creatively and are willing to try something new.
• Here is a wrap-up of the development camp, brought to you by The Hockey News.

• It has been an historic year for women's hockey in 2010. Earlier in the year, women were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame for the first time and now, for the first time ever, a draft was set up for the Canadian Women's Hockey League. If they really want to gain recognition however, they need to expand their program and begin drafting European players as well. the talent level of women's hockey suffers a huge drop off after Canada and the United States. When I went to the Olympics I saw Switzerland play against Russia and the Gold Medal game between Canada and the United States and I have to say it was like going from beer leagues to the NHL. The other six teams in the tournament really weren't close to their level of play. There is only one chance every four years for women's hockey to gain worldwide attention and more even competition would go a long way in giving those women the attention and credit they deserve. 

• The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed Arron Asham to a one year deal making the Penguins the fourth team in the Atlantic Division he has played for since the 2002-03 season. Having already spent four seasons with the Islanders, one with New Jersey and the last two with Philadelphia, I wonder how badly Glen Sather will need a checking forward next season. The only thing I can think of that comes close to this is Pat Lafontaine having spent his entire career in without ever having to change his license plate.

• Finally, the World Hockey Summit is starting this week in Toronto. Over 300 of the world's hockey leaders and experts will discuss, among other things, changes to the game and how to grow it in places where there is not much awareness or support for the game.

That's all for now. I'll post as often as I can and try to update the Twitter feed every day. Within the next few weeks I'll start posting offseason recaps of all the teams. Only 28 more days till the puck drops.

Classic Rivalries and Next Season's Final

I'm starting to think that Gary Bettman has a time machine and knows who is going to the Stanley Cup final before the season begins. He gives little hints just to mess with us.

With the announcement of this season's Winter Classic, it became official that the Washington Capitals would visit the Pittsburgh Penguins for this year's version of the widely popular event. Washington now joins Pittsburgh (2008), Detroit (2009), and Philadelphia (2010) as visiting teams in the Winter Classic. Each of those teams went on to represent their respective conferences in the Stanley Cup Final.

There's also the error engraved into the Prince of Wales Trophy recently that had the Capitals listed as the winner of the Eastern Conference this past season. He probably assumed the Capitals would go to the Final last season, hence all the speculation of Boston hosting the Capitals before a sudden switch to Philadelphia. The shocking combination of Washington's first round loss coupled with Philly's run to the Final gave plenty of people a shock last season but it seems as though Bettman's got it right this year. Now let's see what Alex Ovechkin can do once the calendar shifts to April.

Speaking of the Winter Classic, I have a few suggestions for all future games. First, if the game is scheduled to start at 1:00, then start the game at 1:00. one of the reasons for this game in the first place was to attract non-hockey fans to the sport using a combination of intrigue and wonderment , albeit for a regular season game. The hour or so of pregame festivities if fine for those at the game, but if I'm a casual sports fan I'm thinking "When is this going to start? Screw it I'll just watch a bowl game." People waving flags, drumming, and marching is all well and good, but that can start at 12:00 can't it? Besides the Dropkick Murphys, was there really anything worth delaying the game for?

Spread out the games.I don't just mean other parts of the country besides the North East, but other teams as well. Counting the Heritage Classics, the Penguins and Montreal Canadiens will have played twice each in six games. The kinks have been largely worked out, now its time to spread the wealth. Heck, just for laughs, the NHL can pit the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Florida Panthers.

An increase in rivalries could go a long way towards garnering even more hype for the game. Chicago vs. Detroit was the right idea, now let's get more teams that hate each other. Montreal has the richest history of any team in the game, something they couldn't have accomplished without making a few enemies, namely Boston and Toronto. However, the best matchups they can get are Edmonton and Calgary, two teams with good histories in their own right, but neither has much to do with Montreal. The game in Calgary is an excellent chance to introduce many unknowing hockey fans south of the border to the Battle of Alberta. A showing of the Battle of Ontario would also give Toronto fans something to cheer about for the first time since the lockout.

With pond hockey championships taking place in Minnesota every year, why not introduce the Winter Classic there as well, with Colorado as the visiting team. Dallas would be fun too with their North Stars history. An all New York Classic would also be of major interest, especially if played at Yankees or Meadowlands stadium. (Meadowlands may have better sight lines but that would only add to New York teams taking over New Jersey) Rangers fans still show distaste towards Denis Potvin, even though its been over 20 years since his retirement. Once the Islanders improve, the bad blood running between those teams would offer fans, diehard and casual, an opportunity to watch a great game.

Welcome to Garbage Goals

OK, I'm not exactly sure who will be reading this, if anyone or where even to begin, so I guess I'll just start with a little introduction.

My name is Tim. I'm 21 and from New Jersey. I go to Endicott College in Massachusetts. Other than occasional posts on class blogs, I've never done this before. My plan is to create a blog to talk about hockey. Original, I know. But what can I say, it's something I want to do when I get out of school, so why not get used to it now. Hopefully I'll be able to post once a day as soon as I figure this whole thing out. I really had no idea there were so many options in setting up a blog. I also want to connect my Twitter or Delicious account to provide links to interesting stories.

As I said, I want to write about hockey for a living. I am working towards a degree in Contemporary Journalism at Endicott College. During my schooling, I have interned at Managed Care First Report, a medical journal, and The Home News Tribune, a local newspaper, both located in New Jersey. I have worked at the former the previous two summers. And just for good measure, I have also completed a minor in Creative Writing.

I have been going to hockey games since I was five and have now seen games in Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York (Rangers), Ottawa, Buffalo, Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and Vancouver. I had quite an epic year watching hockey this season; I went to the Winter Classic, Olympic Games, and the Stanley Cup Final. As far as I know, the only other people to do that besides me and my Dad are Mike Richards, Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, and Oskars Bartulis.

Other than hockey, my interests are reading, watching movies, tattoos, and playing pool. But for the most part, yeah, its all about hockey. Well, I'm off to fiddle around with the settings of this blog and hopefully I can post again later tonight or tomorrow.