Michael Kaczmarek

English 1106 Sec.09

Comparison-Contrast E.2

The NHL’s New Era

            Two years ago the National Hockey League (NHL) made several drastic changes.  These changes made it a much faster paced game and a lot more exciting for players and fans.  I have been watching NHL hockey games since the age of seven and I have personally seen first hand, the way these new rules have changed the game of hockey.

            Starting out, the game of hockey was a lot slower paced than it is today.  Prior to the lock out two years ago, games were always stop and go.  Whistles were constantly being blown for off-sides and icing.  Fans wanted to see a good game of hockey: hat tricks, fast skates, and powerful hits, not the sound of a whistle every other play.  Two years after the lock out, the first changes came into effect.  The first big change was the ruling of off-sides.  Prior to the lock out, if the puck was in the opponent’s zone and got sent back out, all players had to quickly get back across the blue line.  This had to be done as soon as possible, before chasing the puck back into the zone.  The new rule now allows the players to just “tag up” instead of having to clear the whole zone.  Tagging up means that all a player has to do is go back to the blue line and put one skate on the other side before heading back into the zone.  “Marion Gaborik drops back to the blue line, tags up and he intercepts the pass, he drives it in, shoots and scores.”   If all the players successfully tag up, no whistle will be blown and the game can continue play.  This creates a much faster paced game and creates many more scoring opportunities.  For viewers like me, this makes the game a lot more exciting to watch.

            When watching hockey, it comes to attention that the goalie actually has a lot of control over stop and go time.  This brings forth another big change that has occurred in the rules.  Before the lock out, the goalie could basically chase the puck anywhere he chose.  With the new change, there are two lines behind the net, which create a little box.  The goaltender cannot skate beyond the limits of this box without being penalized.  I love this new rule; because it allows opponents to have a much better chance of getting the puck and scoring before the goalie is able to get the puck and send it back out onto the ice.

            The third rule change to come into play after the lock out, dealt with the issue of overtime play.  It used to be that when a hockey game was tied after 3 periods of play, they would move into two overtime periods.  If both teams failed to score in either the first or second overtime, the game would then end in a tie.  I never liked it that way.  It is not much fun watching a game that just ends in a tie.  Every year there is a game that is considered to be “the game of the year.”  Prior to the lock out, those games could have ended in a tie and then fans would have had to wait until the playoffs to see who truly the better team was.  Currently, with the new rule change, if both teams fail to score within one overtime period, the game moves into a shootout.  Fans and teams experience so much excitement and anticipation during shootouts; it is incredible.

            When looking back at the past and up to the present, it can be seen that the game of hockey is much more exciting and fast-paced than ever before.  The new rules were put in place not just for the players, but also for the fans.  The National Hockey League wanted to draw a much larger crowd to the sport of hockey, by making it much more exciting to watch.  It does not matter whether spectators watch the game from the arena or from a television set at home; hockey is now a great sport to watch anywhere.