Brett Hull reminded everyone why he is an LCS Hockey hero recently when he ripped the NHL for its pathetic state of play. This was the second such outburst by the Golden One. Hull went on record as saying the game "sucks" and that he wouldn't pay money to watch it. He even questioned whether or not the right people were in charge of the league. Hull, you da man.

Now it's not often that the NHL takes notice of the obvious. After all, Mario Lemieux said that one of the reasons why he retired was the ridiculous amount of hooking and holding allowed to run rampant, yet the NHL brain trust didn't even bat an eye. Yet Hull's second barrage of caustic comments combined with a growing unrest among dissatisfied fans forced the league to take note. In a moment of rare genius, the NHL suits decided something had to be done. Score one for common sense.

With the league mired in a severe scoring drought and any signs of exciting hockey all but suffocated by traps and left wing locks, the 26 NHL general managers got together last week in Arizona to contemplate ways in which to open up the game. Yeah, they basically threw a little slumber party. They got together in a big room, put on their PJs, popped some corn, watched "The Breakfast Club", and gossiped about who liked who. Then when Harry Sinden was the first to fall asleep, that whole hand-in- the-bucket-of-water thing was actually proven to work.

When the boys finally got down to business, the first thing they did was decide to crack down on obstruction penalties following the Olympics. Imagine, referees will actually enforce rules already in the books. Wow, what a novel concept! Why is hockey the only sport in the world that its officials have to be instructed to call penalties?

When play resumes after the Olympics, defensemen will no longer be permitted to run interference for their partners when the puck gets shot deep. This could prove especially devastating to the Detroit Red Wings, who rode this tactic all the way to the Cup last season by stacking three along the stripe in transitional defense. Hooking guys without the puck in the neutral zone will also earn a whistle. So pretty much everything that should be called will be called. Or at least that's the plan. The history of the NHL has proven that these supposed zero-tolerance crackdowns last for a few weeks then it's more of the same slop. It'll be interesting to see how long the ban on interference lasts this time.

You might be wondering why the delay in starting the crackdown. Well, the league said that it wanted to take the time over the Olympic break to provide all the NHL teams with videotapes of what will no longer be prohibited. The time will also be used to equip referees with special clutch and grab goggles. The cereal box tops have already been sent and the four-to-six-week delivery period is winding down.

While calling obstruction is all that really needs to be done to bring excitement back to the game and let the skilled players shine, the GMs also proposed other ideas for consideration. Most will be implemented in the AHL and IHL for experimentation this season, or tried out during the next NHL preseason. Here are the suggestions along with our views of 'em.

1. Moving the Net Out 1-3 Feet: This will supposedly create more room to make plays behind the goal line. But how many players in the league actually have the talent to make plays behind the cage? There's not many left. And the ones that can don't need the extra room. This change is also thought to make it more difficult for netminders to get out and cut the puck along the backboards. But is it really worth it to have all the goaltenders' angles messed up by the change? Doubtful. Forget this one.

2. Goaltenders No Longer Allowed to Leave the Crease to Play the Puck: Okay, this one is just retarded. The theory is that teams will be able to establish a better forecheck if goaltenders don't play the rock. But why should fans be denied the pleasure of watching Tom Barrasso gracefully glide from the net and artfully lead the puck to a breaking teammate or the equally enjoyable sight of witnessing Arturs Irbe wander into the fray and comically fumble the biscuit? This rule would also have a disastrous effect on play. Considering the lack of talent in the NHL, teams would just shoot the puck in every trip up ice and take their chances. Scoring on the rush would be a thing of the past.

3. Players No Longer Allowed to Stop Behind Their Own Net with the Puck: Oh boy. This one is so stupid it's hard to believe they actually proposed it. How could 26 individuals with reasonable intelligence come up with this one? This is supposedly an attempt to speed up the game. But how could it be enforced? What's the difference between a stop and a lengthy pause? And if a guy does stop, what are the refs gonna do? They either have to call for a faceoff or hand out a minor penalty. Either way it slows down the game more than the initial break in action. This is also how teams set up breakouts. Not allowing this time for regrouping will lead to frantic, sloppy plays.

4. Hurrying Up Faceoffs: The league wants to reduce the time wasted trying to get faceoffs just right. They're looking to have a "shot clock" type deal and if the players aren't ready the puck gets dropped regardless. This is actually a good thing. Linesmen get a little silly trying to get things perfect. Just drop the puck, chief...

5. No Line Changes in the Neutral Zone: This is another attempt at speeding up play. It means clubs will no longer be able to change personnel on neutral-zone faceoffs. There's no problem with this one. It would definitely keep things movin' a bit better.

6. Minor Penalties Run a Full Two Minutes: This was the way it was back in the old school NHL. Teams could score as many times as they could during a two-minute minor without the criminal leaving the box. So it's sort of like having major two- minute penalties. It would definitely make guys think twice before taking the needless hook or trip. It also tilts the game in favor of the skilled teams. So what the hell? Give it a go.

7. Erase the Red Line: That's how it always gets listed in articles. "Erase the Red Line." But that has to mean just getting rid of the two-line pass, right? Because literally removing the red line from the ice surface would be pretty gay. Because then what would happen to icing? What, you'd only need to gain your own blue line? Weak. So let's just go on the assumption that it just means whackin' the two-line pass. If so, it's kind of a sticky situation. While the two-line pass has been perverted into an evil ally of the trap, it actually does serve a purpose. It keeps forwards from cherry picking at the opposition blue line. If the rule gets burned, how long do you think it'll be before teams start to just position a guy at the edge of the other team's zone. Then defenses would have to counter by keeping guys back. The whole thing could get messy. But as long as teams don't abuse the freedom, voiding the two- line pass should help open things up and could create a few more breakaways. And that's always a good thing.

8. Use Two Referees: The league is considering going to a two-referee system. Here at LCS we're all for having more obstruction and interference penalties called, and two orange- banded shirts should accomplish that feat. But is the ice surface really big enough to accommodate two referees and two linesman? With the players getting bigger and faster by the year, adding another body to the playing space could be sketchy. I realize this is probably too obvious, but why doesn't the league just make linesman referees? That way you'd have three refs that call the lines and whistle penalties. You get the extra authority without clogging up the flow of the game. The league probably doesn't want to have to pay the linesmen a referee's salary, but the difference in upgrading the two linesmen paychecks is probably equal to the amount needed to hire the new second ref. So we say go with three officials, not four.

As you can see, most of the proposed changes are lame as hell. Speeding up the faceoffs is a good thing, the full two-minute minors might fly, and the two-line pass could get rubbed out. But everything else should be scrapped. And scrapped immediately.

There's nothing wrong with hockey. It's a great game. There's no need for drastic changes. As long as the referees are allowed to enforce the rules already in the books, that'll be enough to restore the game to its once great glory. The superstars have to be able to do what they do best. The days of permitting no- talent punks to compete with the gifted players through hooking, holding, and wrestling have to be over.

The league has taken the first few steps in the right direction. But whether it has the courage and willpower to stay the course remains to be seen. Remember, this transformation won't happen over night. It's going to take a serious commitment to set things straight. What will probably happen is that the refs will start calling 10 to 15 penalties a game, the talented teams will start rolling up the two-bit clubs, and everyone will complain that the playing field isn't level. Then after a month or so the league will fold and things will be right back where they started. That's what happened during the 1995-96 season. And with four expansion teams set to join the league and further dilute the talent, creating room for the true scorers to do their thing won't get any easier.

The NHL has never stuck to its guns when it comes to calling the clutching and grabbing. Now's its chance to do the right thing and save the game from sure doom. But will they have the guts to do it? What do you think?

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