Modern Hockey Should be 4 on 4

[cbcwpg]

Just so much more electric and exciting. You want viewers, that will bring them in.

If hockey was suppose to be 4 on 4 it would have already happened by now. They have already cut it down by 1 player ( it used to be 6 on 6 at one time ) , no need to cut it down by 1 more again.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Just so much more electric and exciting. You want viewers, that will bring them in.

You’re getting a lot of hate for this but it’s a valid idea. In the big picture, hockey has steadily reduced the number of players from 7v7 to today’s 3v3 overtimes. While 5v5 hockey has a strong appeal for a variety of reasons, there is also a completely defensible argument for 4v4 full time. It’s either that or fully enforce the rules so that PPs are much more common and/or teams are forced to open up the flow of offense.

Any appeal to “real hockey” is a red flag for a shallow argument. This is an entertainment industry, not a sacred ritual.

I agree but the NHLPA wouldn't just allow 20% of jobs to be cut like that.

The most recent round of expansion was the perfect opportunity. They could have kept the same number of jobs while shrinking rosters to allow for a more open game.

 

[thewookie1]

No, just no

You’re getting a lot of hate for this but it’s a valid idea. In the big picture, hockey has steadily reduced the number of players from 7v7 to today’s 3v3 overtimes. While 5v5 hockey has a strong appeal for a variety of reasons, there is also a completely defensible argument for 4v4 full time. It’s either that or fully enforce the rules so that PPs are much more common and/or teams are forced to open up the flow of offense.

Any appeal to “real hockey” is a red flag for a shallow argument. This is an entertainment industry, not a sacred ritual.

Sorry but no, 4v4 is not more entertaining and strips even more defense from the game.

 

[daver]

This seems like a good time to again throw out my Simon Says idea as at least it would be not as bad as this one.

 

[tarheelhockey]

No, just no



Sorry but no, 4v4 is not more entertaining and strips even more defense from the game.

What specifically do you find less entertaining when you watch 4v4?

 

[thewookie1]

What specifically do you find less entertaining when you watch 4v4?

The game becomes less strategic and far more free flowing which in moments can be fun but overall reduces the general depth of styles of play you can see

 

[ItsFineImFine]

Just get rid of the offside.

 

[FunkySeeFunkyDo]

Been downhill ever since they got rid of rovers.

 

[Sheppy]

It's shocking that some people think this and then hit "enter" to really cap off their thoughts. Like you have a split second to re-think what you're typing and still hit the button.

This is dumb.

 

[DistantThunderRep]

Just so much more electric and exciting. You want viewers, that will bring them in.

This the new zoomer, tiktok generation in a nutshell. It's actually shocking most of them aren't crackheads chasing the dragon all the time.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Why do people hate defense? It blows my mind , there's nothing better than a contested physical high speed game of hockey , it being 1-0 or 4-3 changes nothing.


Basketball is almost unwatchable with how soft they play nowadays

 

[Kryten]

Id rather get rid of 6 teams and watch a non diluted product

 

[DistantThunderRep]

Why do people hate defense? It blows my mind , there's nothing better than a contested physical high speed game of hockey , it being 1-0 or 4-3 changes nothing

Because the new generation is about instant gratification. struggling and possibly not succeeding is unfathomable to them.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

Because the new generation is about instant gratification and struggling and possibly not succeeding is unfathomable to them.

But soccer is the world's most popular sport so it must be a NA thing

 

[DistantThunderRep]

But soccer is the world's most popular sport so it must be a NA thing

That zoomer tiktok generation who has been coddled their whole lives being told they are all special and unique, is very much so a real NA phenomenon.

 

[1989]

Id rather get rid of 6 teams and watch a non diluted product

I agree, let's start with teams that have never won a Cup.

 

[MoneyManny]

Why do we give a crap about growing the sport? OP is American and he gets laughed at in his social circle because he likes hockey?

Nothing to be embarassed about. The NBA just scammed all it's fans with the Luka trade and the NFL just had the most boring lopsided superbowl in my memory. I'll take the NHL over both these sh*t shows.

 

[3074326]

I’m convinced that a large portion of this forum doesn’t even like hockey

Why do we give a crap about growing the sport? OP is American and he gets laughed at in his social circle because he likes hockey?

Nothing to be embarassed about. The NBA just scammed all it's fans with the Luka trade and the NFL just had the most boring lopsided superbowl in my memory. I'll take the NHL over both these sh*t shows.

lol. Prime example of what I’m talking about. “Why would we want the NHL to be successful?”

NFL fans and NBA fans complain about the same exact stuff as hockey fans. Hard to watch local NBA teams, the NFL is more concerned about advertising than the product, betting is insufferable, officials are garbage, etc. Implying the NHL is without those same problems just tells us you don’t watch the other sports at all.

 

[the valiant effort]

Just widen the rinks 6' already for chris'sake

I don’t know if 6’ is the answer, but I do sincerely hope we see some modest size increase to the playing surface before they make the move to bigger nets.

 

[Brodeur]

Excuse to post an old RHI game. And yeah, I don't think my friends who don't watch hockey would suddenly start because the games became geared for offense.

 

[BLNY]

Let's make it complete chaos. Remove the benches. Put all the players on the ice at once.

 

[Romang67]

Why? Is there anything wrong with the levels of scoring 5v5? The past 4 seasons before this one saw the highest levels of scoring in the NHL since the mid 90s, despite the fact that we're hitting an era where we're seeing the fewest number of PP opportunities per game in recorded history.

If you want to increase the scoring even more, just tell the referees to do their goddamned jobs.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

NHL should just follow the "Blades of Steel" hockey model...

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

A good balance between 4 on 4 and what? I don't see anyone suggesting 6 on 6.

real hockey is 6v6, bring back the rover

Why? Is there anything wrong with the levels of scoring 5v5? The past 4 seasons before this one saw the highest levels of scoring in the NHL since the mid 90s, despite the fact that we're hitting an era where we're seeing the fewest number of PP opportunities per game in recorded history.

If you want to increase the scoring even more, just tell the referees to do their goddamned jobs.

That's largely because of an explosion in ENG

 

[SnuggaRUDE]

You’re getting a lot of hate for this but it’s a valid idea. In the big picture, hockey has steadily reduced the number of players from 7v7 to today’s 3v3 overtimes. While 5v5 hockey has a strong appeal for a variety of reasons, there is also a completely defensible argument for 4v4 full time. It’s either that or fully enforce the rules so that PPs are much more common and/or teams are forced to open up the flow of offense.

Any appeal to “real hockey” is a red flag for a shallow argument. This is an entertainment industry, not a sacred ritual.


The most recent round of expansion was the perfect opportunity. They could have kept the same number of jobs while shrinking rosters to allow for a more open game.

The jobs argument is facile. There's no requirement that roster size change because the number of players on the ice at any time changes.