NHL Golden Rules: 5 Rule Changes That Would Improve the Game

There has been much rhetoric in the press discussing what would make the NHL a better experience for the fans and safer for the players. The NHL has implemented many rule changes over the years designed to both increase scoring and protect the players from harm.

Some of these new rules have worked while others have been a bust. Some just sound ridiculous like the Intent to Blow rule. While I don’t have an issue with that rule, per se, it does need a new moniker.

Here is a list of the top five rule changes needed to improve the NHL as seen by yours truly. Some are rules that need to be added while others describe rules that have passed their usefulness and need to be abolished.

If you agree or disagree with any of my opinions or you simply want to discuss a rule that was omitted, feel free to add your thoughts in the comment section following the article.

Get Rid of the Trapezoid Behind the Net

Paul Bereswill/Getty Images

NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 01: Goalie Martin Brodeur #30 of the New Jersey Devils plays the puck behind the net during an NHL hockey game against the Ottawa Senators at the Prudential Center on February 1, 2011 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Paul Bereswill

This rule was implemented simply to stop talented goalies like Martin Brodeur from handling the puck and hopefully allow teams to score more goals.

Some say it was implemented to stop him specifically.

Brodeur is a great puck-handling goalie, but why make a rule to impede one or two players who have that ability? And why punish teams for having a goalie with exemplary talents?

The fact is that most NHL goalies are not great puck handlers and the fans have missed out on many fluke goals that used to be caused by goalies bumbling the puck behind the net and in the corners. Let the goalies play their positions.

If the NHL is so worried about the number of goals scored in a season, preventing goalies from handling the puck isn't the solution. Instead, they should simply increase the size of the goal.

Stop Linesmen from Throwing Players out of the Faceoff so Quickly

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

CHICAGO, IL - DECEMBER 22: Jonathan Toews #19 of the Chicago Blackhawks and Jerred Smithson #25 of the Nashville Predators compete in a face-off as Thor Nelson #80 drops the puck at the United Center on December 22, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Blackhaw

This is more of a policy shift than a rule change.

The current policy has the linesmen kicking out centres from a faceoff left, right and uh, centre. It's just plain stupid and embarrassing the number of times this happens. Just drop the damn puck already.

If you watch closely, after a kick out, the linesman will drop the puck immediately. Perhaps that is what they ought to do initially instead of holding the puck up for a five-second count and looking for the opportunity to kick a player out.

Simply put, it's bush league. The NHL needs to instruct their officials to stop doing it.

Implement No-Touch Icing

Mike Ridewood/Getty Images

CALGARY, CANADA - APRIL 20: Craig Conroy #24 of the Calgary Flames can't beat Marc-Edouard Vlasic #44 of the San Jose Sharks to the puck for an icing callduring Game 6 of the 2008 NHL Western Conference Quarterfinals at Pengrowth Saddledome April 20, 2008

This is a rule that is simply overdue. There is really no reason to keep touch icing unless you believe that there are not enough injuries around the league.

What is the point of forcing players to skate full speed into a dead-end wall over and over during the game? Skip the drama and save the players from a few more broken bones and other various injuries. This rule helps no one and needs to be abolished.

Make All Games Equally Weighted

Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

ATLANTA, GA - FEBRUARY 27: Ron Hainsey #6 and the Atlanta Thrashers reacts after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime against goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere #35 of the Toronto Maple Leafs at Philips Arena on February 27, 2011 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Personally, I would love to see the return of the tie game. But that is as likely to happen as the Atlanta Thrashers getting a sellout.

Instead, a regulation win should count for three points just as an overtime game does. That way, every game is equally weighted as opposed to the two-tier system currently in use.

How can the league justify that certain games count for two points while others count for three? Not to mention that having the overtime game count for an extra point provides an incentive for teams to play for the tie and then go for the win in overtime.

This practice must reduce scoring overall and should be addressed.

It’s just a matter of fairness. In addition, if winning in regulation garnered the full three points, teams might be more willing to open up play in the end-game and thus increase scoring—which is a reoccurring theme among many NHL rule changes over the past several years.

Get Rid of the Instigator Rule

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

DETROIT - JUNE 06: Linesman Pierre Racicot breaks up a scuffle between Matt Cooke #24 of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Brett Lebda #22 of the Detroit Red Wings during Game Five of the 2009 NHL Stanley Cup Finals at Joe Louis Arena on June 6, 2009 in Detroi

This has to be the worst rule ever imposed by the NHL and has directly led to an increase in player concussions and other injuries.

The rule was initially implemented to reduce the number of fights in NHL games as a method of appealing to the less-blood-thirsty crowd. Although, as fan polls suggest over and over, NHL fights add to the popularity of the sport—at least with current fans.

Without the instigator rule, the thugs and cheap-shot artists who pass for players will think twice before leveling a headshot on the league’s best players for fear of retaliation.

Prior to the instigator rule, teams protected their own players. Everybody knew that you couldn't hit Wayne Gretzky because if you did, Kevin Lowe, Mark Messier or later, Marty McSorley would be gunning for your head in retaliation.

Since the instigator rule, there is no protection at all from this kind of thuggery.

Big-name players such as Sydney Crosby and others continue to get sidelined for extended periods that ultimately damage the league’s reputation, which in turn draws smaller crowds both at the box office and with television viewers at home.

In the end, the instigator rule has cost the NHL much-needed revenues. By repealing it, the league will surely protect their most precious commodity—their star players—better. With their stars getting more time on the ice, goals, crowds and revenues will increase.

Eliminating the instigator rule is a win-win for everybody and is long overdue.