What’s your unpopular hockey opinion?

nbwingsfan

Registered User
Dec 13, 2009
22,263
16,443
Put goalie equipment on a morbidly obese man and tie him to the goal posts. He'll probably have a league average SV%. No need to dish out hefty goalie contracts. Pay more money to the players who actually skate.

This has been proven wrong on multiple occasions. I’ve seen it done with a sumo wrestler in net. They don’t take up nearly as much net as you think and NHL players can shoot way more accurately than you obviously know.
 
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KWP

Registered User
Aug 18, 2018
1,925
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The Nearest Gin Joint
I'd like to add to this by saying that I'd like to see the NHL Regular season end at around 50-60 games. Then, for the playoffs go with: Best of 3 for Conf Qtr Finls, Best of 3 or 5 for Conf Semis, Best of 5 for Conf Finals, and best of 7 for the SCF. NHL hockey finishing in late April at worst, is good for me.

Interesting proposal but I'd prefer 7 rounds of playoffs w/ each round's "Best of" increasing by prime numbers ... 1,3,5,7,11,13, &17.
 

x Tame Impala

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Aug 24, 2011
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If the recent Vlassic and Hall quotes on Escrow are indicative of NHL player’s general (mis)understanding of Escrow, HRR, the inflator, etc...then I’m personally leaning towards being on the owner’s-side of the upcoming labor dispute and will have a major problem with the NHLPA and how they conduct themselves.
 

LT

Global Moderator
Jul 23, 2010
42,463
14,140
Defense at an individual player level is overrated. It's hard to measure accurately, a vast majority of people don't know how to watch/scout it, and it's very largely reputation driven.

Offside is an antiquated rule that can and should be overhauled. Have a "floating" blue line - if a defensive player is behind the blue line, they become the plane that the blue line exists on (very similar to offside in soccer). So it's the blue-line unless a defensive player is behind it. No more killing plays because one player is an inch ahead, or having players veer off the play to stay onside. It should make things easier to enforce, should increase offense, and makes for better game flow.

Players should absolutely be given the benefit of the doubt when it comes to leaving teams or making the right decision for themselves financially. People give teams all sorts of leeway, "it's a business", etc., but the players get vilified. Look at Tavares last offseason. He earned the right to decide where to sign, he used it, and yet he gets vilified for it. But when a team decides a player isn't worth the contract they want, it's the smart decision. I hate this and it's something I wish people would just sit there and think about it more than they do now.
 
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New Jersey

(pacmanghost x) CHIEF KEEFE
Sep 7, 2009
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*intro to the sopranos*
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the neutral zone trap was one of the greatest styles of hockey in the 20th century, as evidenced by being used to perfection by a franchise which would become one of only four non-original-six franchises to win at least three stanley cups.
 

KWP

Registered User
Aug 18, 2018
1,925
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The Nearest Gin Joint
Boxcar65's devotion to Brandon "Mandog" Manning is one if the truly beautiful stories not only on HFBoards, but all of professional sports; and in fact, all of modern day literature.

I for one, hope "Mandog" makes it back to the show just so Boxcar's days happier. (And I'm sure my sentiments exhoed by all HFlyers & HFawks posters. We love you Boxcar wherever you are!)
 

Eisen

Registered User
Sep 30, 2009
16,737
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Duesseldorf
Hockey isn't a fringe sport nor is the NHL a fringe league. Hockey is one of the highest grossing spectator sports in the world. As a fan of mountain biking and competitive freeskiing, I find it comical to see people refer to a multi-billion dollar sport as fringe.
I say amen, as a guy who gave up on trying to follow Greco-Roman wrestling.
 
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Filthy Dangles

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Oct 23, 2014
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Not an unpopular opinion per se but something lots of casual fans might not understand...

Analytics is all about 'entry with possession' and how successful that is relative to dumping it in. (of course you'd prefer to have the puck instead of having to get it back first). What lots of casuals don't realize is there is a compromise, that is if your team elects to try and gain the zone with possession more, good chance you'll be giving up your zone with possession more the other way.

dumping the puck in and managing it (getting it behind the opposition) forces them to go ~200 feet each time and lets you establish your neutral zone forecheck if you can't recover the puck and avoids turnovers and transition chances. Boston and St Louis has 2 of the highest dump in rates and were 2 of the best defensive teams in the league.

A team like the Blackhawks had one of the highest rates of making plays into the zone but also had the worst rate the other way. Same with Ottawa.

Obviously you're more likely to generate a chance when you can control the puck when crossing the blue line (duh) but the value of it in the grand scheme and over the long haul isn't as valualbe as led to believe.
 
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Eisen

Registered User
Sep 30, 2009
16,737
3,104
Duesseldorf
For what it's worth, I want the rats getting penalized for their **** too. Like I said, it's a ****ty grey area right now that really does give the rats too much power/agency. Either the league needs to deal with cheap **** themselves, or they need to let the players do it again. Right now it's neither, and it's obnoxious, kind of embarrassing for the sport with **** like face licking, and it's plain dangerous.
It doesn't work. There were plenty of cheapshots even when fighting was more prevalent. It's a mindset that is very rarely changed by fear. In addition, you could just turtle.
 
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