Should the NHL Shootout Format be Changed?

Author: Illegal Curve

November 16, 2009

Illegal Curve`s E-Take is sponsored every Monday by Immunocal, the elite athlete nutritional supplement for muscular performance since 1996. www.wellnesswinnipeg.com.

When hockey returned from an extended absence in 2005, one of the major rule changes was the implementation of a shootout if a game was tied after overtime.  Three skaters for each team, followed by a sudden death round the winner.  Hockey purists weren't thrilled with the changes, but the NHL doesn't cater to hockey purists.  The NHL is looking (begging) for a new fan base, and this decision was made for the fans.

"From a marketing standpoint, how many times are you seeing the shootout on ESPN?" Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Aaron Ward observed.  "Just about every day you see the winning goal."  The best skaters in the world go head-to-head against the best goaltenders in the world to decide the winner of the game.

Debates generally center on whether the shootout format should be used to decide a contest, but it seems the shootout here to stay, and it is a big hit with fans.  Perhaps the debate should focus on whether the current NHL shootout is the best format for players and fans.  Other professional leagues have different shootout rules.

Shootouts in many European leagues have three shooters for each team followed by sudden death.  Unlike the NHL, after the third shooter the same shooter can shoot as many times as he wants.  This format would allow, in a tied shootout, Ovechkin and Crosby to battle until one player scored and one was stopped.  It would also prevent a situation where players such as Brad May and Brooks Orpik shoot to decide the game.  Though you never know how a player is going to react until they get up there.  Who could forget Marek Malik's legendary goal in the 15th round of a 2005 shootout?  Malik's goal was ranked as the play of the year by TSN.

In the NHL, the first team to score wins an overwhelming majority of the time, and being down two goals in a shootout is nearly impossible to come back from.  The AHL uses five shooters per team.  Extending the NHL shootout to five shooters would at least allow a team a chance to win after giving up the first or even second goal.

Who have been the best and worst shootout teams recently?

The Atlanta Thrashers were the NHL's best team in a shootout last year at 7-1.  Surprisingly it was Vyacheslav Kozlov, not Ilya Kovalchuk that led the Thrashers in shootout goals.

Not only were the Lightning the worst team in a shootout last year at 3-10, they are already 1-5 this season in the shootout. Lightning forward Steven Stamkos has already expressed his displeasure.  “It’s unacceptable.  With the amount of skill we have, it’s just one of those things.  There’s really no way to explain it.  You have to score.”

The Florida Panthers were 3-8 in a shootout last year and the New York Rangers were 10-6.  The teams finished two points apart for the NHL's final playoff spot.  Two years earlier, a shootout win by the New York Islanders over the New Jersey Devils sent the Isles to the playoffs and the Maple Leafs to the golf course.

Whether or not one is in favour of the shootout, it certainly makes the end of games more exciting.  Just leave the playoff overtime format alone.

Written by Ari Baum-Cohen  ari@illegalcurve.com 
 

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