Came up with this idea that I thought could be kind of fun. Here's the hypothetical:

You are a multibillionaire and you decide that you want to start your own semi professional hockey league... something that falls between the lines of the AHL and juniors.

History has shown that those hockey leagues haven't fared too well financially. And you have quite a bit of competition. Therefore, you decide that you're going to create rules that make your league unique. Mainly, you're trying to create scenarios that don't happen anywhere else in professional sports.

What rules would you institute in your league to make its games more appealing than the other semi pro leagues? They can be anything at all, from penalties, to scoring, to lines rules, etc.

Here are two I've thought of:

1. Wagering Points

Standings would work on a traditional 2 point system that the NHL uses. BUT, as often as teams like, they can wager up to 2 additional points on any game throughout the season.

Lets say a team has a game coming up against another team that they seem to dominate. They can wager an additional 2 of their points in the standings, so if they win, they get 4. But if they lose, they actually LOSE two points in the standings.

This would create all kinds of crazy situations during runs to the playoffs AND create intense/interesting match ups year round. Obviously, a team is going to play batshit crazy if a team is cocky enough to come into their own building and wager 2 points against them.

2. Play On

If a team is within 1 goal in the dying seconds of a game and the puck is still in the offensive zone, play is continued until 1 of 2 things happen;

a. The puck is cleared past the blue line.
b. A save is made or a play is whistled dead.

If a play is whistled dead as a result of a penalty taken by the team playing D, a penalty shot is awarded. If it's made, game goes to OT. If it's missed, game is over.

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Wheelhouse

I'd want to have progressive penalty minutes. There is no reason a delay of game penalty is worth the same as boarding. I say have penalties as short as 30 seconds, and as long as 3 min (for a minor). Make the punishment fit the crime a bit more.

Also no more stopping play because the puck goes in the netting, when it falls down keep playing.

Change offsides to be more lenient, the spirit of the rule is that you dont have guys cherry picking, calling offsides because of a foot or two is absurd, give them some leeway. Heck, I'd be ok with it not being offsides unless 2 guys are offsides. That would make entering the zone much easier and foster a lot more offense.

Oh, and some cameras in the goal posts for fucks sake, that the NHL hasnt done this yet still mystifies me.

I love that idea. I hate whistles in general. Just keep effin playing.

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Wheelhouse

No touch icing, no 3-point games (old system of two-points to winning OT/SO team but NO POINT FOR LOSERS), and make fighting majors count: four-on-four hockey instead of no change. That would make teams think twice about fights. Those are the only real changes I'd make to the current rules. Also get rid of the trapezoid.

4 15 minute quarters and 10 minute breaks inbetween the 1/2 quarters and 3/4. ice is resurfaced at the half.

2 point win
1 point tie
no points any kind of loss.

no touch icing

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