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The free-flowing hockey here contrasts with the tight, defense-first NHL version.
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published February 20, 2002
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah -- Commissioner Gary Bettman has 131 reasons why the games played at the Olympics have been better than the ones played in the NHL.
Forget the differences in the ice, the ability to make two-line passes over the red line, the fast faceoff, or icing calls that come immediately when the puck crosses the goal line.
Forget it all, he said, and remember who is playing the games.
"There has been a lot of talk about how good the hockey has been at this tournament," Bettman said. "But I would respectfully suggest the biggest reason is not the nuanced difference in a couple of rules, but because you have (131) of the best hockey players in the world playing in this tournament."
Bettman is right. NHL players are competing with an energy and passion that have crowds at the E Center and the Peaks Ice Arena in Provo screaming for 60 minutes.
Saturday's game between the United States and Russia was extraordinary and was surpassed Monday by the battle between Canada and the Czech Republic.
As the tournament moves into its most exciting phase, beginning with today's quarterfinals, the question is: How much have the international rules influenced play and can those rules be brought to the NHL, where a lack of goals is a constant sore point, as are stifling defenses like the neutral zone trap and left-wing lock?
"It's hard to say," said Finland defenseman Janne Niinimaa, who plays for the Oilers. "The styles are so different."
It starts with the ice. It is the same 200 feet in length as NHL ice but, at 100 feet, is 15 wider. That gives players more room to maneuver, and gives forwards a better chance of slipping behind and through the defense.
With the red line taken out of the mix, passes can be made from the end boards to the opposite blue line. It is a playground for forwards, a nightmare for defensemen.
It is a game advocated by U.S. coach Herb Brooks, who wrote Bettman "a couple of times" to suggest the NHL adopt those rules.
"Very nice replies," Brooks said, "but, basically, "consider yourself considered.' "
"I think we all love Herb, but he tends to have a short memory," Bettman said. "In partial response to a letter he sent me a few years ago, we did move the goal line out from 11 feet (from the end boards) to 13 feet."
That's not enough for Brooks, who wants the goal lines moved farther.
"I'm a proponent that we are in the entertainment business," he said. "I like to give as much game as possible to the athletes. If you can use the red line just for icing and move the goal line up and out, I think you will see a more dynamic game."
The most popular change among players would be widening the ice.
"It would give you more space and more time to make more plays and play better," said Finland and Sharks wing Teemu Selanne. "Right now the neutral zone in the NHL is so tight, nobody can make a play in there."
Czech Republic and Capitals wing Jaromir Jagr agreed, but said the 100-foot width is too much.
"I think it would be good to make it a little bit bigger because there is time in the (Olympic) match it's kind of dead," he said. "You're waiting for everything to come to you. In the NHL you can go up and down all the time."
It is a moot point. NHL owners likely will not want to take out a row or two of high-priced seats to accommodate bigger ice. Bettman said teams three years ago turned down a request by the league to experiment with allowing two-line passes.
As of now, the only change that seems to have a chance is the quick faceoff, in which linesmen drop the puck whether both players are ready or not. That would remove the jockeying for position before a draw. Bettman said general managers will consider it at their meetings in March.
"We're going to evaluate what we've seen here and decide what we want to change," he said.
U.S. and Red Wings wing Brett Hull said the first change should be attitude.
"The players will play any way you want to play," he said. "If you're told to hold, not pass the puck and chip it in, chip it out, the game is not going to be any good. So what you need to change is an attitude more than the size of the rink or a change in lines.
"It starts with an attitude and we can go from there."