What happened to Old Time Hockey, eh?

The NHL regular season kicked off this week and the citizens of Hockeytown couldn't be happier. Especially after seeing how great our Wings looked in their first two games against St. Louis.

The season starts off with several new rules. The two line pass rule is cool --it makes for faster paced games and helps well skating teams like the Wings. The new goalie rule I'm still up in the air about. The OT shootout also makes for more excitement, which apparently we need.

That seems to be the big complaint from all the idiots out there --"Hockey's not exciting. I can't see the puck!" whine, whine, whine. Personally, I'd rather have them not watch hockey, but I understand we need to build revenue. Maybe one day Bettman will wake up and realize people actually like watching fights! (Imagine that? It's not only part of the game, but usually what excites fans most. And even the idiots who can't see the puck can figure out what's going on when two players are fighting. And Bettman thinks he needs to change the rules to build the excitement...)

So we've got rule changes and more special teams play than good old 5 on 5. I can handle this.

What I cannot abide is the new scheduling rules! How can an entire NHL season pass us by without Detroit playing Toronto ONCE? Or Montreal? Or Boston? We're talking the original six here! Do you think we want to watch Detroit play crappy teams like St. Louis a dozen times or more? (Oh, it will build rivalries --no, idiots! Teams build rivalries, not league schedulers!!)

It's bad enough I have to put up with Florida having two teams and teams in frickin' Arizona. Personally, I think hockey should be contained to north of the mason-dixon and east of the mississippi (canada exclued). Then we wouldn't have to change all the rules to try to entice people to watch the game. But enough is enough! Stop the madness.

Bring back Old Time Hockey! Eddie Shore, eh?