Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said that the NHL's newly created bye week has "worked counter to what it was supposed to accomplish -- namely offering players a break from the grind of an 82-game season," according to Jonas Siegel of the CP. Speaking a day before the Leafs got their first mandated five-day break, Babcock said, "It’s 100 per cent wrong for player safety. You’ve got so many games in such a short period of time and you’re jamming in more. To me, the more days rest you can have by not playing back-to-backs and jamming it in the healthier you have a chance to be." NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman last week said that he was "hearing similar grumbles about the bye week from players and clubs who argued that the compressed schedule was hurting rather [than] helping with the rigours of a long season." Siegel noted the bye week was added this season after the NHLPA "agreed to a new three-on-three format for the all-star game" (CP, 1/7).
TIME TO SPICE IT UP: In N.Y., Larry Brooks wrote the "instant classic" U.S. shootout victory over Canada in the World Junior Championship finale "featured passion that is missing from the NHL season that simply is too long, too packed in, and features way too many monotonous games which are all but devoid of scoring chances and hitting, let alone actual goals." It is "indisputable" that NHL players are "better than ever, but the games are not" (N.Y. POST, 1/8). In Boston, Fluto Shinzawa wrote of the NHL, "At least one of every three games is unwatchable -- little in the way of offense, creativity, hitting, fighting, or anything resembling entertainment." Shinzawa: "It is with caution that I express skepticism about the sport's condition. To these eyes and those of others, the NHL does not grab its customers by the collars and demand that every game be watched." It feels like the NHL is in a "vulnerable position." The game is "compromised, ticket prices are high, and entertainment alternatives have never been more expansive -- athletic or otherwise." Shinzawa listed seven fixes for making the NHL product "more engaging to watch" -- restrict net-front time for defenses, bring back the red line, no more icing on power plays, ban fighting, enforce penalties, make goalies use skaters' sticks and eliminate the offside challenge (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/8).
LET THEM PLAY: In Toronto, Rosie DiManno wrote "everybody, except for the 30 Lords of NHL," is in favor of the league participating in the Olympics. DiManno: "If growing the game is genuinely an ownership objective, then the biggest stage on Earth would be a good place to start -- and stay" (TORONTO STAR, 1/7). The GLOBE & MAIL's Eric Duhatschek listed three things that "keep Gary Bettman up at night." First, an Olympic decision, which is "expected this month." Second, the "pending concussion lawsuit, expected to go to trial in February." Third, "seeing if the Vegas expansion gamble pays off" (GLOBE & MAIL, 1/7).
EXPERIENCE MATTERS: The GLOBE's Shinzawa noted the Blackhawks-Blues NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2 posted its smallest audience yet for the annual event. Regardless of the quality of hockey, the NHL "succeeds in making the outdoor game pop for those who attend." Ticket and merch sales are "robust" and the game "makes an impression on its on-site customers." So instead of "seeking teams and matchups with TV ratings in mind, the league should train its efforts on the in-person experience." Small-market teams such as the Blue Jackets, Hurricanes and Predators "would do well at the gate." Shinzawa: "Such teams deserve a chance" (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/8).
