Anyways, Patrick Kane, hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks, graces the cover. It is fairly unusual for a hockey player to be featured on the front cover of SI, an occurrence that happens maybe once or twice a year. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last year, beating the bearded Bruins, anchored by the robust Zdeno Chero, in a hard-fought series. Both teams could have easily won the cup. It seemed like the momentum swung every period. SI picked the Blackhawks to win it again this year, a safe, reasonable assumption. If the Blackhawks were to win, it would be their third Cup victory in five years.
It is interesting that SI chose Patrick Kane as their cover portrait instead of team captain, Jonathan Toews, another youngblood who leads the gritty 'Hawks. Kane brings finesse, skills, silky smooth hands, and a patchwork beard to the table. Toews counters with heart, muscle, two way play, and a winning attitude.
Perhaps most importantly to the American media, Kane is from the US of A. He's from Buffalo, a stone's throw away from Canada where Toews and most other good NHL players call home. Each player has his merits. While Toews might be a more effective player, as indicated by his superior plus-minus, Kane is clearly the more skilled and entertaining player.
He is poetry in motion on the ice. It really is captivating watching him in High-Def with his dangles and pinpoint wrist shot. Sports is all about the ability of the human body. Spectators appreciate the skill of the players who have fine-tuned their craft for their whole lives. Athletes keep redefining what is achievable in the human form. As we as a species evolve, athletics evolve and improve with the course of time. Witness the stronger and faster athletes prevalent in any sport.
But, has the skill kept pace with the improvements in speed and power? If you watch the Bobby Orr highlight below, you can see exactly how much better he is than the rest of the skaters. Superior speed and stickhandling.
Now compare that highlight to the one below of Sidney Crosby.
What are a couple things that differentiate the two clips? First, the music has transitioned from the syrupy James Bond number to the fist-pumping staccato of Avicii. Hmm. Second, there isn't that much of a drop off in skill between Number 4, Bobby Orr and Sid the Kid. Also, keep in mind, Orr was playing with much worse skates and a flat-bladed stick, while Crosby has the benefit of 40 years of technology funded by human interest. If you compare other old highlights, say video of Pele, and compare it to that of Messi, the difference is incredible. Here, not so much. So, what happened? A number of things.
It seems to me that Crosby is much more crowded than Orr. There isn't as much space to maneuver and exhibit his superior skating and stick skills. This is due to the evolution of the faster and stronger hockey player. The average player is probably closer in skill to Crosby than the 1960's lunch-pail players were to Orr. Also, Goalies are much worse in Orr's highlight than in Crosby's. The goalies that Orr faced probably wouldn't make your average Bantam team today. Their pads are minimal, and their helmets are crude masks mimicked by Jason in the Friday the 13th movies. These two factors combine to result for less goals scored in today's game.
SI's cover article details the latest efforts by the league to promote goal scoring. New measures have been put in place over the past decade to encourage a more offensive game. Obstruction and holding penalties are called more often. The Blue line has been pushed back into the neutral zone to make for a larger attacking zone. Two line passes are not illegal as they once were. Goalies are not allowed to play the puck in the corners. However, the offensive numbers have not improved that much. Last year's 5.31 goals per game were the fewest since 03-04, the last season before the lockout and the implementation of many of these new rules.
The drastic measure that the NHL has taken this year is to reduce the size of the goalie's leg pads. Rather than covering 55% of the upper thigh, these new pads can only cover 45% of the upper thigh. (Each goalie is measured and fitted for separate pads, a weird, invasive practice.) This really isn't that big of a change and I doubt it will do much to improve scoring and promote skilled play. Here's what needs to happen.
The NHL should change their rink size from the North American standard to the Olympic-sized rink favored in Europe. The Olympic sized rink is 15% larger which should open up more real estate for the skilled athletes that every spectator is there to see. Here is a graphic illustrating the size difference between the two rinks.
The NHL could push the blue lines of the Olympic-sized rink back to 64 feet from the endboards, the current NHL standard. This would promote a more exciting game, at least in my opinion. I would love to see the added creativity and skill promoted by the larger size of the Olympic size rink. Though I do not know, I don't think it would be too hard for arenas to switch to this larger layout. Most all the arenas are multi-purpose anyway, so changing the size couldn't be too hard or expensive. I mean, they did it in Vancouver for the last Olympics. Anyways, here's to a good hockey season, and an entertaining Olympic session, even though the games will be played at unfriendly hours for the North American spectator.
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