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Mon Aug 25, 2008 12:45 pm EDT

James Mirtle, Globe & Mail: 5 ways I'd change the NHL

By Greg Wyshynski

Every weekday in August, Puck Daddy presents "5 Ways I'd Change the NHL," in which a cross-section of sports media and hockey personalities offer solutions, suggestions and absurdities to remake the League to their liking. We're thrilled to have James Mirtle, sports writer for the Globe & Mail and editor of his own pioneering hockey blog, contributing his list today ...

By James Mirtle 

1. Fill the seats. Any time the issue of overpriced tickets is raised, the explanation offered is always "supply and demand" -- and that holds water in markets that sell out 41 home dates a year. But one of the biggest problems in the NHL is that so many teams have wide swaths of empty seats, so much so that twelve teams averaged under 90-per-cent capacity last season. Mandate that all teams have to fill their buildings, either by lowering ticket prices or using innovative gimmicks like the ‘Student Rush' program the Pittsburgh Penguins had for years, and get people in the seats in Long Island, Florida and Phoenix.

2. Give the Toronto Maple Leafs a regional rival. There's no question in my mind that the greatest untapped market for NHL hockey is right in downtown Toronto, where buying a ticket anywhere close to face value is never an option regardless of how lousy the home side is. Forget territorial rights -- this is one change that could dramatically increase the interest in hockey in its largest market (in terms of the size of the fan base) by giving an Original Six team a huge new rivalry akin to what we see in baseball with the Yankees-Mets and White Sox-Cubs.

3. Expand the net. Add a very subtle increase to the size of the goals to account for how much larger netminders are these days and make the position more about acrobatics and reflexes than nonchalantly cutting off angles. Last season was the sixth-lowest scoring campaign in the past 50 years -- and goal scoring is trending downward.

4. Lower the salary floor. Forcing rebuilding teams to spend close to $41-million this season frankly doesn't make a lot of sense. The salary floor is set at exactly $16-million less than the ceiling, meaning that even if the cap rises another $10-million, small markets will have to keep pace with those at the top. Lunacy.

5. Reduce the number of games. It's a pipe dream, but a 70- or 72-game schedule would be ideal. Start the season on Oct. 1, have it end in mid-May and watch as the number of injuries decline and the level of play rises.

James Mirtle will continue his losing streak in the much-heralded "Mirtle vs. Wyshynski" debates next season. Coming up on Tuesday: Kevin Kaduk, editor of Y! Sports baseball blog Big League Stew.

Related: Hockey Fans, Gary Bettman, Commissioner for Life

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50 Comments

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  1. gostarsgo56
    1. Posted by gostarsgo56 Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:39 pm EDT

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    I swear if I hear one more person say expand the nets... The Sharks vs. Stars game 6 this year was the most exciting game I've seen in a decade. And that ended 2-1 in 4 ots. More goals DOES NOT mean a more exciting product.
  2. Leahy
    2. Posted by Leahy Thu Sep 03, 2009 9:27 pm EDT

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    Re: ticket prices
    Would the threat of a tv blackout for not selling out a la the NFL cause teams to start lowering ticket prices?
  3. sdfh s
    3. Posted by sdfh s Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:28 pm EDT

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    #2 is complete lunacy.
    #3 is just a hack solution. they can mandate slightly smaller equipment if they want to.
    the others are good ideas.
  4. Pension Plan Puppets
    4. Posted by Pension Plan Puppets Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:06 pm EDT

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    More goals doesn't mean more exciting but watching a goalie make saves just because he is so big that there is nowhere to shoot DOES make it more boring to watch.
    Alternate comment:
    Wyshynski! You suck! You have 5 different ideas every day. Pick 5 and stick to them you pinko.
  5. Geoffrey
    5. Posted by Geoffrey Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:34 pm EDT

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    So who exactly is supposed to be the rival for Toronto? Montreal and Boston hate each other to bits already. Ottawa? Buffalo? The Wild?
    Someone's going to have to take the bullet for such a rivalry. Who is ready to drop the gloves against the Maple Leafs?
  6. Matt
    6. Posted by Matt Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:18 pm EDT

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    "Give the Toronto Maple Leafs a regional rival"
    Typical Toronto-centric thinking. It's like how people continue to care about the Knicks because they play in New York even though they've been a laughingstock for most of the decade and the poster boys of mismanagement at the top.
  7. .................................................!
    7. Posted by .................................................! Thu Sep 03, 2009 2:44 pm EDT

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    Very meh, Dr. Mirtle. I was expecting more.
  8. Wilf
    8. Posted by Wilf Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:46 pm EDT

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    Expanding the nets is a dumb idea. However, I'll endorse moving the Panthers or Coyotes to Hamilton. That club would sell out by virtue of the Toronto people buying tickets to jeer them alone.
  9. Wilf
    9. Posted by Wilf Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:46 pm EDT

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    At the same time, aren't the Senators a regional rival of the Leafs? The last time I was at the Hockey Hall of Fame, I saw some Senators fanboy and fangirl and the fangirl had a tramp stamp which read, no kidding, "Leafs Suck."
  10. Hyphen
    10. Posted by Hyphen Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:24 pm EDT

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    Yes Matt the Knicks are a laughing stock due to horrible management. Even though they suck they are one of the most valuable franchises in sports due to their market. It wouldn't matter if a Toronto team went 0-82 they would still sell out more than more other teams in the NHL. People continue to care about the Knicks because the market is huge and they are rolling in money because of it.
    Pension you are totally right. Look at Wysh sucking on that Cuban cigar. Total Castro loving Pinko.
  11. jkrdevil
    11. Posted by jkrdevil Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:36 pm EDT

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    Certainly not bad. a few things expanding the net won't bring about more exciting goaltending which is what is needed, not more goals. As for filling the building, i agree with mirtle however one problem is some teams may make more by charging high prices and not filling the building than by charging lower and selling out. for instance the devils averaging about 15,000 per game took in $200,000 more per game than the sabres who sold out every game by charging lower prices. over the season the devils made 8.2 mil. more than the sabres on ticket sales by selling less tickets. now grated the devils have lowered their season tickets but singles are the same price
  12. trombass08
    12. Posted by trombass08 Thu Sep 03, 2009 10:21 pm EDT

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    Except for 4 and 5, that was a complete waste of time on everyone's part.
  13. cleaver
    13. Posted by cleaver Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:54 pm EDT

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    This series has convinced me that expanding the nets would lead to more shots, whereas a month ago I thought it would lead to more goals but not more shots.
  14. James Mirtle
    14. Posted by James Mirtle Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:19 pm EDT

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    shots on goal are about the same as they've always been, going back into the early '80s.
    http://mirtle.blogspot.com/2007/09/recent-history-of-goaltending-and.html
    at least hyphen's sticking up for me. :-)
  15. J.P.
    15. Posted by J.P. Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:42 pm EDT

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    If this was a "Caption This" post, I'd submit "What has two thumbs and roots for a crap team? This guy!"
  16. Geoffrey S
    16. Posted by Geoffrey S Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:37 pm EDT

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    Umm, if you put a second team right near Toronto, wouldn't the fact that every person living near that team is a Leafs fan and will remain a Leafs fan for life make the "rivalry" kind of lame? And aren't Buffalo and Toronto already closer to each other than any teams except the NY/NJ ones and LA/Anaheim?
    I guess it couldn't hurt to move the Devils or Islanders to Hamilton, though; the Toronto-Buffalo area undoubtedly has more hockey fans than the NY metro area.
  17. Tardell Scorpion
    17. Posted by Tardell Scorpion Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:47 pm EDT

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    isnt it hypocritical to say expand the nets for more goals and then decrease the games so you get less overall goals/points? come on Mirtle, think this through a little.
    he's correct about the Toronto market. theres too much money there that could go into another team. hell, add one to Alberta too somewhere. just make a rink and a parking lot in between Calgary and Edmonton and call it "HOCKEY CITY" and youll sell the place out every night.
  18. James Mirtle
    18. Posted by James Mirtle Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:19 pm EDT

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    Having more games doesn't mean they're more exciting games. If that was the case, why not a 100-game season?
    Look how many goals there'd be!
  19. randall b
    19. Posted by randall b Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:42 pm EDT

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    leave the nets alone and just play hockey. fill the seats is great but at what cost to the NHL?
  20. David
    20. Posted by David Thu Sep 03, 2009 3:32 pm EDT

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    Hyphen:
    C'mon, you know the guys running NHL teams have a more sophisticated understanding of the market than a video game (though I recognize this as hyperbole). Obviously as ticket prices decline more people will buy them but that doesn't mean total revenue or total profit necessarily goes up.
  21. Mile High Hockey
    21. Posted by Mile High Hockey Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:20 pm EDT

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    I'm 100% in support of a second team in Toronto. Or a team in Hamilton. Or both.
    Not that anyone cares.
    Wyshynski you are pleasing to my olfactory system.
  22. Mike
    22. Posted by Mike Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:57 pm EDT

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    Dude Mirtle you're the man. i do like this point though: "Umm, if you put a second team right near Toronto, wouldn't the fact that every person living near that team is a Leafs fan and will remain a Leafs fan for life make the "rivalry" kind of lame?"
    I mean, are you hopping on board the Hamilton train James? Doubtful.
    Other than that, pretty solid. Keep on keepin on homes.
    Oh and Leafs Suck Go Wings.
  23. James Mirtle
    23. Posted by James Mirtle Thu Sep 03, 2009 4:19 pm EDT

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    Like hundreds of thousands of people in this area, I'm not from Toronto. Yes, there are a ton of Leafs fans, but at the moment, there aren't a lot of options.
    Put another team in this city and they'd have a following. Immediately.
    I'd trek to Hamilton for 10-20 games a season. But the team would be better situated in Toronto.
  24. TheTick
    24. Posted by TheTick Thu Sep 03, 2009 7:29 pm EDT

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    What the Leafs need is not just a regional rival, as Ottawa and Buffalo can be sufficiently rival-ish, but a rival that is on par with them skillwise. Hence, move the Islanders to Hamilton. Then again, even Leafs fans may not take the trip to see that much suck...
  25. styles
    25. Posted by styles Thu Sep 03, 2009 8:57 pm EDT

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    Nice work Tick! I was lucky enough to grow up in central Ontario and not TO and so learned about hockey a little before I picked a team to cheer for at the age of 8. I would love to see some hockey here in town that didn't come with a big pile of suck for ridiculous amounts of money. I didn't pick a team because my dad saw them win a cup once on his neighbours black and white tv. I make the trip to Hamilton to watch the Bulldogs a couple times a year, but otherwise it's all OHL in town and then trips away to catch two NHL teams playing in the same rink.

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