Dear NHL….

Now we all know how much of a crush Gary Bettman has on the NBA.  The guy got his start there and worked with them for over ten years before attempting to ruin becoming commissioner of the NHL.  I am not a Gary Bettman fan.  I will tell you straight out that he is trying to make the NHL into his version of the NBA.  He doesn’t respect the individuality that the NHL has and the fact that its fans are different than the fans of other sports.  The NHL doesn’t enjoy the appeal that it has up here in Canada when it is being played in certain markets, but that will never stop GBetts from forcing it down the throats of the good people of Kansas City, Las Vegas non-hockey markets.

That being said he has also done some good for the game.  A lot of the owners love him, and a good reason for that is he’s made league revenues balloon.  That’s why I find it shocking that there are times when I see the NBA coming up with an idea right in the NHLs wheelhouse, a video rulebook on its website to educate fans, and the NHL isn’t all over it.  It’s the perfect idea, especially if we’re going to keep trying to make hockey work in non-traditional NHL markets.

Have you ever watched a game with someone who didn’t understand the rules?  Wouldn’t something like this be absolutely perfect?   I admit I could even get some use out of it.  I feel like I’m never 100% on the current rulings of delayed offsides and there are always rules that they are tweaking.  As of now the NHL’s equivalent is this, an online rulebook.  It is extremely dry, unhelpful and self-referential so that anytime you want to look up one rule, it will link to other rules to help you understand what they mean.

So NHL, you’re not fooling anyone, I know you read my posts, I mean, they’re even on the internet!  Do a video rulebook for your site.  Use players that you want to get exposure for.  Sell your game properly, not like you see the cool kids (NBA, NFL) do.   Help to educate new fans without alienating old ones and we can all get along.