By Taylor Landau
Some of you may have seen this post circulating around Twitter this week, and it got me thinking. I posted my own set of unpopular opinions in response, but then I started thinking about it a little more and realized I missed a whole slew of unpopular opinions I have about the National Hockey League. I narrowed down my top five unpopular hockey opinions that I either feel most passionately about or am probably the most outspoken about. I fully expect to get flamed after this. Let’s get into it!
1. I Actually Like Shootouts
Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor scores against the Edmonton Oilers in a shootout. Photo via NHL.com
I feel like this may be my most controversial take on here, but I actually kind of like shootouts. I think it’s a good way to end hockey games when overtime isn’t good enough. Understandably, people don’t think the game-winner should come down to what’s essentially a skills competition, but after seeing the 5 OT game from the playoffs in 2020, I’m very much in support of some finality to the games. It’s also, in my opinion, an exciting way to finish. I’ve seen some people pitch the idea of extending overtime to 10 minutes before a shootout, and that’s definitely something I can get behind. But honestly, I just don’t mind watching a little skills contest every so often!
2. There needs to be a trophy for the best defensive defenseman.
Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman wins the James Norris Memorial Trophy in 2018. Photo via Bolts By the Bay.
The James Norris Memorial Trophy is supposed to be awarded “to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position,” but it seems like in recent years, it’s been given to the best offensive defenseman, which seems kind of backward. I was watching a Winnipeg Jets game recently and the broadcast showed the top three front runners for the Norris Trophy (Erik Karlsson, Josh Morrissey, and Rasmus Dahlin at the time of the game). I noticed that the only thing they talked about was the number of points they had. There was no discussion of their defensive stats.
I think one of two things should happen: the Norris Trophy needs to actually focus on the best two-way defensive player, or there needs to be another trophy altogether focused on defensive defensemen. The Selke Trophy is given “to the forward who best excels in the defensive aspects of the game,” so why isn’t there an award for defensemen that’s awarded the same way? I’m personally in favor of a new trophy altogether that focuses solely on defensive stats. There are so many defensemen being overlooked in Norris contention because they’re not racking up the offensive points but are still contributing heavily to their team's success on the defensive side.
3. The NHL Doesn't Need Any More Teams
All 32 current NHL teams in alphabetical order. Photo via NHL.com
When I heard the rumors of Houston and Atlanta getting NHL expansion teams, my first thought was, "Isn't 32 enough?" In my opinion, 32 is a good number to cap the league with four divisions and eight teams in each division. Adding two leaves the divisions unbalanced, which may not have a ton of consequences, but it also doesn’t seem entirely fair. If you’re going to add more NHL teams, then there should be four more added to make it 36, but even then that feels like a lot. Major League Baseball has 30 teams, the National Football League has 32, and the National Basketball Association has 30, so it’s not like the NHL having 32 teams sticks out amongst the other major sports in America.
We already saw that hockey didn’t exactly work in Atlanta, and while there were several factors contributing to the team’s failure, I’m kind of surprised the NHL is thinking of trying again. I know I’d probably have a different tune about this topic if I lived in either of the areas rumored to get teams, but it’s hard for me to get behind expanding when the league already has problems marketing and maintaining the teams they have.
4. The NHL should market their "little guys" and inspirational stories.
Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom, who returned to the NHL this season after what was potentially career-ending hip-resurfacing surgery. Photo via Washington Hockey Now.
Quite frankly, I’m tired of hearing about Connor McDavid. And Cale Makar, Igor Shesterkin, Sidney Crosby, etc. They’re the “big names” in the NHL, and I get it, they’re such talented and decorated players it’s easy to make them the faces of the league. But at the same time, I’m over it. Watching broadcasts where my team is facing any of these more prominent names is annoying at best and unwatchable at worst when the announcers can’t stop fawning over these guys. Maybe it’s just me, but I typically enjoy watching the “little guys” reach milestones more than watching the same players do it over and over again (Alex Ovechkin is the exception for me here. Not sure why). Give me a player reaching his 100th game, or a player not ordinarily talked about suddenly having a career year. I much prefer watching those types of stories over watching the same four or five guys pass milestone after milestone. I think casual fans will enjoy that, too. A majority of casual fans (unless they're fans of the Capitals) probably couldn't care less about Ovechkin's milestones. Show off the little guys every once in a while, and the NHL might find the game growing a little more.
Similar to that point, casual fans can connect more with inspirational stories of underdogs reaching milestones or beating the odds. Nicklas Backstrom coming back from what was supposed to be career-ending surgery is a much more endearing story to the casual fan than Connor McDavid surpassing his career points record (again). If the NHL wants to grow the game, they need to appeal to casual fans and try to convert them into “die-hards” from there. Push out endearing, inspirational stories and the NHL may start to expand.
5. The Kraken is trying to make Buoy the new Gritty, and it’s getting old.
Seattle Kraken mascot Buoy the Troll. Photo via Vancouver is Awesome.
When the Seattle Kraken debuted its new mascot at the beginning of the season, I was… confused to say the least. (I was also roasted by the team’s Twitter admin, which was admittedly deserved.) Buoy, as the troll has been dubbed, started to grow on me, until I saw the direction the team was taking him. He was beginning to look like a discounted version of Gritty, the Philadelphia Flyers’ iconic mascot. He was engaging in some really similar antics, like getting into a rivalry with TNT announcer Paul Bissonnette. If memory serves me right, Buoy and Gritty actually collaborated on a TikTok together, and that's when I put two and two together.
Gritty is wildly popular even outside the realm of hockey, so it’s no wonder that a new team would look to emulate that to garner popularity. Honestly, I wish they would make Buoy his own thing. The Kraken should be looking to differentiate themselves a little bit and stand out in the league, and I'm not sure having a mascot that’s no different from Gritty is going to help. I like the Kraken, and I want them to succeed both as a team and as a franchise, but they should try to find a balance between making Buoy popular and having some sense of originality.
Well, there you have it! Do you agree with any of my opinions? What unpopular opinions do you have about hockey? Let me know!
Shootouts is the best thing ever and it’s a battle of the best players and goalies