Its time for the NHL Renaissance

[BettisFan]

Great Read ITs time!!

"Travel back with us to the year in sports that was 1994, when hockey was at its zenith of popularity.

Mark Messier led the New York Rangers to their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. Wayne Gretzky made pucks fashionable in Hollywood. NHL '94 was one of the coolest sports video games available. Michael Jordan was out of basketball, and Sports Illustrated even hinted that the NHL could be poised to eclipse the NBA.

We all know what happened. The first lockout. The neutral-zone trap. Overexpansion. Some fans started paying less attention. Then the second lockout wiped out an entire season, and more fans tuned out entirely.

But with a potential sexy Stanley Cup finals matchup pitting the Penguins and Red Wings, hockey has a unique opportunity to squeeze its foot back into the sporting forefront … and Page 2 is here with a list of things the NHL should do to reclaim its fair share of the spotlight.

• The "glow puck" returns and is joined with "glow sticks," "glow skates," "glow beards" and "glow blood!"

• Encourage players to start showing more raw emotion.

• Foster the return of real rivalries.

• Have players get into the public eye more often by hanging out with Hollywood types.

• For the same reason, have Elisha Cuthbert date every North American-born player … and have Anna Kournikova date every Russian-born player.

• Dudes without helmets.
• Goalies without helmets.

Remember when it rained plastic rats in South Florida in 1996?
• Mandatory dress code, enforced by Don Cherry.

• Relocate the teams with the three lowest attendance figures in 2008-09 -- to Winnipeg, Quebec City and Hartford in 2009-10.

• Bring back colorful nicknames like "Rocket," "Boom Boom," "Grim Reaper" and the "Golden Jet."

• Four words: Bring back Peter Puck.

• Reprise an ultra-successful marketing vehicle in conjunction with the NBA and NFL by having Sidney Crosby star in a cartoon with LeBron James and LaDainian Tomlinson.

• Keith Tkachuk and Paul Kariya should wear this jersey at all Sunday home games.

• Generate more fan interactivity, like what we saw at Panthers games in 1996.

• More flaming mascots.

• Every cold-weather team should play host to one outdoor game each season.

• Make Rick Tocchet CFO.

• Ask Mr. Hockey to return to play in his seventh decade.
"
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...t&lid=tab4pos2

[Godfather]

Bring back the proper conference and division names. (Wales Conference, Patrick Division)

No teams with sub-.500 records in the playoffs. Replace them with the 9-seed from the other conference if they have a winning record, if not give the 1-seed a bye.

[RoethlisBURGHer]

One problem is the NHL is on Versus...a channel most people dont realize that they have.

If the NHL really wants to get back to popularity, seeing how right now it's been surpassed by NASCAR...it needs to get it's games onto stations people KNOW they have. Get a night where there is a game on ESPN, get a night where a game is on ABC/NBC/FOX or another "local" statoin.

Get EPSN to do a NHL show like how they have Baseball Tonight/NFL Live/NBA Fastbreak.

[KeiselPower99]

Espn needs to do more for the NHL then just have Berry Melrose do a quick 5 minute segment once a week. As for the real confernece names Im for it. I get so confused hearing Detroit and Columbus being in the Western Conference. There is so much promise and hope and talent in the league right now.

[BettisFan]

Originally Posted by RoethlisBURGHer

One problem is the NHL is on Versus...a channel most people dont realize that they have.

If the NHL really wants to get back to popularity, seeing how right now it's been surpassed by NASCAR...it needs to get it's games onto stations people KNOW they have. Get a night where there is a game on ESPN, get a night where a game is on ABC/NBC/FOX or another "local" statoin.

Get EPSN to do a NHL show like how they have Baseball Tonight/NFL Live/NBA Fastbreak.

lol yea i just found out i had that channel last week !

[pittsburghp8baller]

Originally Posted by RoethlisBURGHer

Get EPSN to do a NHL show like how they have Baseball Tonight/NFL Live/NBA Fastbreak.

the problem is there is only 1 person on ESPN that gives a crap about the NHL and that is barry melrose.

Its sad that hockey will prob never get the respect that it deserves. I have converted 10+ people to hockey fans this season alone.

NHL average attendence beat NBA's (only by 5 fans but still win is a win). but my final thought is that i would rather keep the core of die hard fans than have a million people wake up one morning see the pens are in the Cup finals and run out and buy full out gear and say they have been die hard fans from day 1.

[millwalldavey]

God... There was a time (late 80's early-mid 90's) where I was such a nut I could tell you the complete rosters of every NHL team, theire AHL and IHL minors, the ECHL, CHL and UHL teams and every prospect in the Canadian Juniors.

Round the height of its popularity in the later 90's (spurred by jazzy uni's, Fox sports and ESPN) I think it just got too big for its boots and started to lose interest.

I'd like to see it go back to being grittier and lots of goals, Kinda like the 80's. I was always a Blues fan, but since I saw Sid and his Terrible Towel I'm kinda having a spft spot for him.

(LOL... I even have a Rimouski Oceanic Sid Jersey round her somewhere! I remember reading about him in the Hockey News when he was 11)