After 310 days of empty ice and abandoned locker rooms, hockey fans can look forward to an NHL season this fall. On Friday, the National Hockey League's Board of Governors ratified the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiated with the NHL Players' Association. Owners, fans and players breathed a sigh of relief, including the New York Rangers' 2003 first-round draft pick, Hugh Jessiman '06.
"It's great to have hockey back on the ice and to have the league up and going," Jessiman said from New York in a phone interview with The Dartmouth.
"It's a great outlet for the fans, especially since the fans have missed so much in the past year. Everyone seems desperate to have the league back and it was nice to get it done this summer, especially with some time for the NHL draft to get underway as well."
The new CBA, birthed from a new partnership between owners and players that the NHL calls "groundbreaking," also includes a "package of rule changes that accentuates offense and maximizes the excitement and entertainment" of the game, according to NHL press releases.
"There are a couple of rules such as the icing touch-up rule, which is a rule basically hybridized for the safety of the players," Jessiman said. "Players were getting injured rushing for pucks when they were iced -- so that's a rule more geared toward the players."
"But a lot of the rules, such as the shoot-outs and the goalie pad restrictions, are good for scoring and the overall excitement of the game," he added. "That's what the players and the league have in mind when they're thinking of these kinds of things."
But whether the new rule changes will significantly alter the game remains to be seen. Dartmouth goaltender Mike Devine '08 expressed doubt over whether narrowing goalie pads by an inch each will result in long-term scoring increases. Despite the initial creation of more scoring room for the shooter, he believes professional goalies will soon adapt to the changes.
"After the goalies get adjusted to the new gear, the league will probably try and find more ways to increase scoring once they see that it's not necessarily the equipment that's preventing more scoring, it's the goalies," Devine said.
In a rule that promises to increase the urgency of regular season games, which are often overlooked by fans because of a lack of intensity, the NHL has instituted a new shoot-out rule. The rule will guarantee a winner each game by mandating a shoot-out if the game remains tied after five minutes of four-on-four overtime. Three skaters from each side will take alternating shots against the opposing goaltender, and if the game remains tied, the teams will take "sudden-death" shots to determine a winner.
"At this point, I think anything that would make hockey more exciting to the fans is a positive thing," Devine said. "Unfortunately for goalies, fans seem to get more excited over guys scoring goals than they do guys stopping them. But with hockey being in the state that it is, they need to do something to make the game more exciting."
In hopes of fewer stoppages and increased pressure on rushes, the NHL is also altering rules to reduce whistles on two-line passes or off-sides. The new season will allow two-line passes crossing the red line and a blue line. Previously, players were called offside if they preceded the puck into the offensive zone, but the new NHL has instituted a tag-up rule to increase pressure on the defensive team by allowing an offensive player to touch the blue line with his skate -- "tag-up" -- and rejoin the attack or forecheck.
The league's CBA ratification couldn't have come at a better time for fans as well as the industry. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman issued a letter addressed to hockey fans on the NHL website, expressing his and the league's appreciation for fan patience and devotion.
"Right now the league is pretty desperate to get fans back," Jessiman said.
While most hockey fans at Dartmouth are looking forward to watching the 2005-2006 season on television this fall, Jessiman may have an insider's view of the new NHL. Currently training at the New York Rangers' Madison Square Garden training center in Tarrytown, New York, Jessiman will be deciding his upcoming season's plans within the next two weeks.
"Obviously I've been thinking about what I'm going to be doing this year and this is something that's definitely been on my mind for quite some time," he said.
With the new CBA in place, Jessiman is planning on contract negotiations regarding the next few years and considering the possibility of foregoing his senior year at Dartmouth.
"If that doesn't work out, then I'll be back at Dartmouth, and if that's the case it'll be equally as exciting," he added.
Jessiman said that the torn deltoid ligament in his right ankle, which he suffered in a league game against Princeton University last fall, has completely healed after months of rehabilitation. Now in intensive training, Jessiman has been working out with prospects from the Canadian major junior leagues and the Rangers' player-development affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack. In addition, every few days he has been skating with Rangers defenseman Darius Kasparaitis and NHL right-winger Martin St. Louis.
"It's been nice to be around them and kind of get a feel for what things could be like in the fall if I am there. It's been a good experience just getting stronger and getting into shape for the upcoming season," he said.
The new six-year agreement schedules NHL play through September 2011, with the Players' Association retaining the right to reopen negotiations following the 2008-2009 season.
One of the main concerns during the lockout was the issue of salary caps on team payrolls and individual salaries. The owners and players seem to have reached a compromise by instituting rules that no team's payroll will be less than $21.5 million for the upcoming season or exceed $39 million, including all salaries, performance bonuses and signing bonuses.
While they have agreed on an entry-level salary limit of $850,000 for the upcoming season, the minimum salary has been increased from $185,000 under the previous agreement to a whopping $450,000 for 2005-2006. Still, the agreement may seem like a bargain in light of the $2 billion worth of revenue the league lost last year.
"I don't think the NHL could afford to go another year without playing," Dartmouth forward Eric Przepiorka '06 said. "It'll be great as a player and a fan to be able to watch a hockey game on TV at night. It's always nice to come home at night and watch a game or see some highlights of a great goal."
The NHL Entry Draft, reduced from nine rounds to seven, takes place Saturday, July 30 at noon.
