NHL : 3 ideas for reform

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As hockey fans worldwide wait for the next season of NHL to kick off, here’s looking at three reforms that could greatly improve the league:

1) With the onset of the digital revolution, almost all sporting disciplines have adopted the use of technology in performance evaluation and assessment. In fact, Major League Baseball is considering the involvement of robotic umpires, to take decisions regarding balls and strikes. While there are justified concerns about this, there is no doubt that human judgment is inherently vulnerable to error. Hockey is also currently being played faster than ever before, making it tougher for referees to keep a close watch on all that unfolds during a match. Hence, a third referee – aided by electronics –could help in making calls, without any further congestion on the ice. This would not only ensure that the rules of the game are enforced properly, but it would also prevent the outcome of a match from being too dependent on the decision making abilities of any one individual. Such an “eye in the sky” referee system has been adopted in many sports, and it is time for the NHL to catch up.

2) While there is a salary cap and ceiling, which is meant to ensure income parity across all teams, there are differences in the economic benefits reaped by the various teams, and this needs to be addressed. The income inequality arises from the fact that the NHL involves teams from various states and two different countries and operate under various tax frameworks. For example, teams such as the Florida Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Dallas Stars, and the Nashville Predators, are based out of states where they are not required to pay state income tax. This gives them a clear economic advantage over the other teams.Furthermore, locations which are much warmer, such as Vegas, Carolina, San Jose, and Los Angeles, are favoured by players, compared to locations which are much colder, like Edmonton and Montreal. A viable method to even out the playing field is to impose a “luxury tax”, to be paid by teams that benefit from factors that lend a competitive advantage. While this does not have to be large, it can play a crucial role in ensuring parity across teams.

3) Currently, the number of goals by each team, per game has dipped to an average of 2.7-2.8 for the past 12 seasons (except for last season). This is due to teams and coaches analyzing their opponents more effectively, and consequently thwarting goal attempts more successfully. A possible reform that could lead to more goals, and hence allow teams to fully utilize their goal scoring abilities, is to increase the size of the nets. While the nets don’t need to be as large as football nets, an increase of a few inches on either side could go a long way in livening matches up and making them more competitive. Similar structural changes have been introduced in other sports, such as the three-point line of the NBA, and the adjusted pitcher’s mound of the MLB, and the NHL needs to adapt to the changing needs of the game too.