glen a richter wrote:If they felt the need to make any sort of changes, it should have been changing to a 10 minute OT. I know that was mentioned earlier in the thread, but it bears repeating.
Something that could make the likelihood of shootouts less without totally destroying the integrity of the game with bullshit like 3 on 3 would be a 10 minute OT with a running clock (except for stoppages for goals scored), 5 on 5 but offside and icing rules no longer apply. Whoever scores more in the 10 minutes wins, if it's still a draw, game over, good night and get home safe. I guess that would lead to a hell of a lot of cherry picking though, I don't know. If they have to make changes don't make it a damn 3 on 3 though, that's bush league bullshit.
I agree with changing the OT to 10 minutes (even though its not gonna happen because of unions and lawyers), but i disagree with your complete dismissal of 3v3 play. It is technically still a possibility within the rules of the game to see 3 on 3 hockey during regulation. It's very rare to see it, but it does happen and therefore it's not as outlandish as the shootout.
However, 3on3 AND the shootout is just too much gimmickry
I would have liked to see an extension of OT to 10 minutes. 4v4 for the first 5 minutes. The first stoppage AFTER the 5 minute mark, play is changed to 3v3 and is finished out that way. This minimizes its use and keeps play flowing if a team happens to be on an odd man break or have sustained pressure in the offensive zone. At the end of the 10 minutes, the game a ends a tie. Get rid of the loser point and simplify the standings back to W-L-T with a win being worth 2 points, tie 1 point, and a loss 0. With this system, a team that knows that they are not good at 4v4s and 3v3s would be incentivized to win the game in regulation. I imagine we would see a lot more desperate attempts to win games at the end of the third before the OT, rather than the typical "play for the loser point" mentality that teams seem to adopt during the last 5 minutes of a game unless they are on a powerplay.