Is it time for the NHL to transition to larger size European rinks?

[rocketdan9]

There's a thread like this one once a month...

All you have to do is to watch a few European games, then ask yourself why the scoring is lower, the tempo is lower, the hits are fewer, and so on. And you'll have your answer.

Because It is not the NHL league (best players in the world)

I think this is a big factor to consider, don't you think?

 

[Preposterone]

The difference is

NHL league is more dynamic than either. Best players in the world for a reason

NHL game would make better use of the extra inches around the rink imo

I dont buy this. The KHL is a more dynamic league than any league in the world outside of the NHL, and their leadership believed that transitioning to NHL ice would improve their product. This is an obvious appeal to authority argument, but do you genuinely believe you know better than KHL executives?

 

[Melrose Munch]

yes.

 

[M88K]

If the motive is to increase scoring, you could do simple things like increase the net size, actually call penalties like they were coming out of the lockout in 05

If you just think things are too cluttered and want to see more open space, the league could move to full 4 on 4, without any dimension changes.

 

[sxvnert]

Since they're hell bent on turning the nhl into a no contact league they might as well.

 

[kerrabria]

Hasn't it been shown that bigger ice doesn't increase goals or scoring chances. If anything it might lead to more cyclling.

Even if true, cycling is way better to watch than chip-and-chase and there being several minutes at a time when neither team can maintain possession in the offensive zone.

 

[Fjorden]

Plenty of situations where I enjoy watching 4 on 4 hockey more... due to room for more skill plays on the ice

The rink size for the NHL has not changed for a long time. While players have become faster + system designed to clog the neutral zone and in front of the net

Is it time to increase the rink size to European rink size standard?? A few lost seats shouldn't be a big deal. Can make it up by charging a little more for the other seats. Should help with overall fan experience with the bigger ice.

The coming world championships in 2022(Finland),2023(Russia) and 2024(Czech Republic) will be played on NHL size(60x26 m), same with olympics in 2022(Beijing). source: https://swisshockeynews.ch/index.ph...-championships-to-be-played-on-nhl-size-rinks

Same with KHL they have switched to smaller ice. They have both the finnish rink size(60x28 m) and NHL size(60x26 m). As for my country Norway. 6 out of 10 teams in the top league(Fjordkraftligaen) play on NHL rink(60x26 m), soon their will be 7 out of 10 playing on NHL rink(60x26 m). 10 years ago everyone in Norway played on international size(60x30 m). So I think the smaller rink NHL size will be the standard size in all international comepetitions also soon.

The iihf president made this statement:
"The future is having the best players of the world playing on the small ice. Why should we not be playing on the small ice?," IIHF president René Fasel told the media at the press conference on the final day of the 2019 World Junior Championship in Vancouver back in January."

 

[mac nylander]

euro football sized nhl rinks or i dont want it

 

[Pavels Dog]

I want a middle-ground between NHL and Euro sized rinks. I think that’s the sweet spot and I wish everyone would just realize it and move towards making that the international standard.

 

[jkrdevil]

Plenty of situations where I enjoy watching 4 on 4 hockey more... due to room for more skill plays on the ice

The rink size for the NHL has not changed for a long time. While players have become faster + system designed to clog the neutral zone and in front of the net

Is it time to increase the rink size to European rink size standard?? A few lost seats shouldn't be a big deal. Can make it up by charging a little more for the other seats. Should help with overall fan experience with the bigger ice.

As explained it will decrease scoring chances and scoring because the extra room makes things more cautious, slower as a result. You aren't adding area where goals and chances come from. How many goals do you see from shots near the boards? Not many, now add 7.5 feet on either side of the rink. The result is teams will pack the middle even more and let teams keep to the outside. Furthermore because the extra space makes losing the puck tougher to get back, possession becomes even more paramount than it already is. That means teams are more apt to hold onto the puck until they get a grade A chance, rather than a regular chance as of now. That lowers the number of scoring chances overall. It is a very plodding game because teams become more risk adverse.

If you look at leagues and tournaments on big ice vs small ice and chances and goal scoring is consistently higher on small ice. A good example would be to compare the 2010 Olympics to the 2014 Olympics. It is also why as pointed out the IIHF and other major euro leagues are in the process to switching to smaller ice surfaces.

then explain 4 on 4 hockey with current ice....why is it better in many ways??

First off many (including myself) will argue the 4 on 4 is not better. Most of the time it is pass around the peremter wile the other team boxes out and burn two minutes off the clock time. However, even with 4 on 4 on small ice the players still remain in shooting and scoring position on the ice.

I'm in favor of larger ice surface rinks. Players are way bigger and faster than they were when the current dimensions were established. There is less room out there then ever before and a lot of times it looks like pond hockey put there.

Players are on average an inch or two bigger than previous generations. That's an argument for adding maybe a foot or two to the rink. Not 15 feet.

right a few hundreds of thousand to change the rink would put these millionaire owners into financial strain

pardon my sarcasm, but this not a bonafide reason not to do it

You would be taking out some of the most expensive seats in the building without being able to make it up because of physical constraints. It also changes the sight lines which devalues value.

 

[wetcoast]

Hasn't it been shown that bigger ice doesn't increase goals or scoring chances. If anything it might lead to more cyclling.

Not only that but the NHL is never going to take seats that customers pay big bucks for out for this proposal.

Zero chance.

 

[notDatsyuk]

The larger ice surface allows for the skilled players to excel, which would be fine if there were only maybe 20 teams, so the talent wasn't so watered down.

Without building larger rinks, increasing the ice size would reduce seating capacity.

For those two reasons, the NHL isn't interested.

 

[lawrence]

they need to transition to hiring refs that can see. Not blind men.

 

[Confused Turnip]

so for Olympics...but not in European leagues

KHL is moving to NHL rinks and already has like half of them transitioned, I believe other euro leagues are also at various stages of preparing to do so.

It relates to the playoffs in a way

you know why they went with 3 vs 3 for OT in the regular season??

less congestion and more scoring opportunity

Changing the size of the ice and changing the number of players on the ice is not the same. At this point there is both a ton of data and consensus among players (including European ones) that the European rink size leads to lower scoring, grindier and more boring affairs. Many European NHLers have commented on this, and it's easy to see in leagues like the KHL where all three common rink sizes are employed by different teams.

All you do when you make the rink wider is create that much more distance between the outside and anywhere reasonable to shoot from, which the defender will gladly make use of.

 

[Confused Turnip]

I want a middle-ground between NHL and Euro sized rinks. I think that’s the sweet spot and I wish everyone would just realize it and move towards making that the international standard.

What you want is the Finnish standard, my understanding is that the Finnish league is moving to NHL size from it.

 

[BudBundy]

Look at the most recent few Olympic Games hockey tournaments. The most skilled players on Earth with the “big” ice surface. Should be awesome right? Nope. Super defensive, cautious. Like frickin soccer. 2-1 snoozefests. You want more goals? Call the rules. Penalties are two minutes regardless of you get scored on or not. Last resort, make the nets bigger but then you throw 100 years of records in the garbage, so no.

 

[deca guard]

I disagree...you can strategize all you want. Its going to take more skating regardless

4 on 4 is not boring hockey and seems to produce more chances. Due to less players, less congestion in front of the net and neutral zone

agreed . go to the hybrid in between size and make nets 6'' wider , try it in ahl next season !

 

[ozzie]

Owners would love to miss out on all those front row seats, of course there would be new front row seated. But over all, they would lose some capacity. Tickets are already expensive, this would just compound the issue. Also, with all these new arena being built over the past 20 years, the NHL missed the boat on this change.

If I recall the Olympic ice is the same length, but just wider than an NHL rink. Whilst the European ice is also longer and wider. So to me, the Olympic ice might be the best option.

Some of the best hockey I've ever seen was played on Olympic Ice, but obviously those players were the best in the world. Not sure how it would translate to the NHL, of the NHL game to it. Owners would still lose some seats though, just not as much.

 

[Beukeboom]

Because It is not the NHL league (best players in the world)

I think this is a big factor to consider, don't you think?

So you think games would be faster on a bigger surface, where the distance to the crease is longer in every possible way? You think there would be more (or the same) amount of hits when players have more space to operate on? You think there would be more goals on a larger surface when less shots would be taken, because of distance.

It's not really rocket science.

Edit: It's also funny how the Swedish elite league is trying to copy NHL more and more, for instance they might hand out 5min majors for fighting instead of game misconducts and there is the occasional talk about smaller rinks. Yet many NHL fans here want to go in the opposite direction, despite probably never having seen a European hockey game in their whole life.

 

[MuckOG]

Why is it people always want to mess with the game??? Increasing the size of ice is idiotic. No chance the owners would do such a thing, so why even discuss it?

 

[OKR]

More and more teams in Europe are choosing to use NHL size rink tho, would be pretty backwards if NHL now changes theirs to euro-sized rink.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

yes.

No.

 

[Bixby Snyder]

Real hockey is played on the 200x85, the fact that European arenas and teams are transitioning to smaller rinks proves this.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

Why not make the nets like 6 inches bigger and wider? That will increase the scoring chances a lot more.

Eh, no. Let's not do that.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

then explain 4 on 4 hockey with current ice....why is it better in many ways??

It's not.