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It’s no secret that Uncle Gary (Bettman) is not one to make waves. To his credit, he is one of the most responsive commissioners in all of sports. This is why it’s time for the league, the owners, and the commissioner to take a signal from across the pond, and do more than just put out public relations pieces or boost the message of prominent figures in the world. While this would be an unusually public stance from the NHL, this would go beyond a video or Instagram post. The unity this would present would go a long way, while hockey is not the glueRead More →

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To give NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman some credit, he’s working hard to make sure the 2019-2020 playoffs go ahead. Despite teams announcing cases of COVID-19, the focus is still on which hub cities will host. The lockdown, in its various forms depending where you live, has given time for reflection and as I sit here with my iced-latte, wondering what July will bring, two things are clear: it’s summer, and I don’t care about the NHL resuming. That’s not say I’m not excited about next season. I can’t wait for everyone to be fit and healthy again, and to see what the Yzerplan will bring.Read More →

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The world of sports lends itself to all manner of water cooler debate: Which player would you rather have? Who’s the greatest of all time? How exactly are the Patriots cheating this week? And if you could change one rule, what would it be? Generally speaking the NHL’s done a decent job with theirs. You may get the odd fan grumbling about a puck over the glass resulting in a delay of game infraction or the infamous instigator rule, but by and large, it’s not a book fans want totally rewritten. However, if there’s one rule the NHL has right now that’s so incredibly irritatingRead More →

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From the Quiet Ice . . . by Mike Filce In-game Entertainment You can’t help noticing with all of the pundits, talking heads, bloggers, podcasters and assorted Twitter-drunk commentators, some ideas come up again and again, and some of them receive respectful consideration — when they should be squashed like the stink bugs they are. Let’s look at a few. Late in a recent “31 Thoughts” podcast episode, Jeff Marek broached the topic of “pump[ing] up the home team” with in-game music. We’re talking about the practice of silencing the music as the puck drops so fans can hear the sounds of the game. ElliotteRead More →

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By Mike Filce, coming to you from the Quiet Ice Imagine for a moment that you were Gary Bettman and you wanted hitting gone from hockey. How would you go about it? For starters, you would have to make players far less interested in hitting, and that’s no easy feat. You have to make the cost of hitting higher than the reward — higher than the great feeling of delivering punishment, higher than the feeling of making statements for your team and higher even than elevating your value through this kind of play. The consequences would have to make it simply not worth it anyRead More →

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“Quiet Ice is a phrase used to characterize a sliver of playing surface goal-scorers love to find because it’s unguarded by opposing players and can be used to rip off a good, quick shot. It is not, as some had understandably assumed, a reference to any place where Sean Avery isn’t.” (Source, the Hockey News) From the Quiet Ice . . . It’s time to put this goofy debate to rest — this idea that the East and West are somehow equally challenging conferences. Or even more bizarre, that the East is actually more challenging? Come now. To be fair, this debate is partly confusedRead More →

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Professional sports, as a business, strives to expand its following, either by adapting the game or creative marketing. The NBA, led by Adam Silver, has adapted the professional basketball experience by focusing on how to draw fan attention. The league stepped in when teams decided to bench their starters without notifying the public, who buys tickets. On the contrary, the NHL has proven, time and again, that it remains out of touch with the masses. The announcement of Kid Rock at the All-Star is the latest decision prompting thought that the league is stuck in the late 90’s. When was the last time anyone said,Read More →

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The NHL is just 31 days away from the beginning of the 2017/18 season. In the next 31 days, let’s dive into the 31 NHL teams in alphabetical order and look at their previous standings and upcoming season predictions and key additions and subtractions. The first team on our list is the Anaheim Ducks. Embed from Getty Images 2016/17 record: 46-23-13 Key additions: Ryan Miller Key losses: Nate Thompson, Emerson Etem, Jonathan Bernier, Shea Theodore 2017 prediction: Top three team in their division In recent years, the Anaheim Ducks have a been a strong veteran team in a weaker division. Since 2013, the Ducks have averaged over 100 pointsRead More →