Credibility Issues

The NHL has some credibility issues with many detractors of the game and unfortunately no matter what the NHL does this fact will never change. Recently the NHL has been experiencing some credibility issues with it's current fan base and the NHL should deal with these issues before they start to lose the casual fan. Three issues that bother me and often have me questioning the NHL are the points awarded to those teams who lose in Overtime or the Shootout, the on-ice officials and the trade deadline.

Why is the NHL rewarding teams for losing? No other league awards a team for losing. The NBA and MLB refuse to allow ties in their games, there must always be a winner and there is no recognition given to a team when they lose in extra innings or in overtime. The NFL has a sudden death overtime quarter of 15 minutes, the loser of the game receives no recognition. Prior to the lockout many experts used the excuse of the Small Market Average Joes versus Big Market Superstars, how can the small markets compete? Well, thanks to the CBA, that excuse is now null and void. It is time to have a winner and a loser, the winner gets two points and the loser gets zero points.

The NHL officials have never been worse than what they are now. On many nights it appears as though the officials miss the obvious while calling the questionable. There seems to be many officials who lack judgment and cannot recognize an obvious dive or which player is actually causing the infraction. The officials lack consistency and often call a very unbalanced game. All this puzzles me because NHL officials are paid extremely well and dedicate their entire year, or at least they should be, to honing their skills and abilities. So, what is the problem? Why are the NHL officials so inconsistent and inept? The NHL has to take a look at their officials and recoup from what has been a gong show on many nights over the past two seasons.

The NHL trade deadline has to be altered so that it becomes more difficult to buy a playoff berth and/or a Stanley Cup. What is the point of the first 60 games of the season if you can buy your way into the playoffs and possibly all the way to the Stanley Cup final? More emphasis should be put on team building rather than player buying. What you do during the off-season and the training camp should have more effect on what you do at the end of the season and into the playoffs. You want to trade draft picks and/or prospects for a 40 goal-scorer who is being paid 6 million dollars a season, then you should have to be held responsible for 1/2 of that players salary which means the trade deadline should be in and around the 1/2 way mark of the season. This seems more sporting to me.