Ludicrous, but interesting.

Pretty much sums up my feelings.  Want to make a circus out of regular season games?  Be my guest.  Want to make a circus out of possibly the two biggest game of the entire calendar year?

Not my preference at all.

Posted by Earl Sleek from Anaheim, CA on 01/22/09 at 02:48 PM ET

Completely disagree. Couldn’t believe this idea is from the genius Holland…
I’m with Earl Sleek comment. Make all the experiments in the RS. This proposal don’t go too far .

Posted by Eduardo from Rio de Janeiro on 01/22/09 at 03:13 PM ET

This is dumber than “bigger nets”.  I just lost alot of respect for Holland. He’s suffering from Winter Classic “disease” obviously

Posted by kevin from boston on 01/22/09 at 03:24 PM ET

I don’t know.  Maybe Holland’s trying to find ways to get an increase in the cap’s ceiling.  I’m sure he and his staff are not happy about the revenue-sharing but these are the cards he’s dealt.  Is there another way to increase revenue so he can get the cap increase so he can sign high-caliber talent for the Wings?

Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 01/22/09 at 03:26 PM ET

Foolishness. Might as well go to a single game format too.

Posted by Nate A from Detroit-ish on 01/22/09 at 03:37 PM ET

This is the worst idea Ken Holland has ever had.

Worse than Wendell Clark or Uwe Krupp.

Posted by Nathan from the scoresheet! on 01/22/09 at 04:00 PM ET

SCF tickets cost enough…now you will have to fly to wherever to see the game? And let me guess..they will play the games in Las Vegas or Stockholm..no thanks

Posted by kevin from boston on 01/22/09 at 04:34 PM ET

Wasn’t it Scotty Bowman who thought that it would actually be more of an advantage for a team to open a playoff series on the road instead of at home, because there would be a less pressured atmosphere on the road?  Maybe that is what he is considering.  Or it’s the tactic of proposing something crazy and then going for what you really want to get because by contrast it sounds more sensible.

Possibly it is a means of increasing revenue.  Doesn’t fifty percent of playoff dollars get sucked off by revenue-sharing?  If there is a disincentive financially to advance in the playoffs, then this might be his idea to try and make the playoffs more profitable for the teams that actually make is as well as the teams that need the money to stay afloat.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 01/22/09 at 05:31 PM ET

If there is a disincentive financially to advance in the playoffs…

I think the better word choice here is “lesser incentive” instead of “disincentive”—it might not be as profitable as it used to be, but it’s not costly to advance in the postseason.  Nobody’s tanking in April to save a few bucks, right? 

(Eyes San Jose suspiciously).

Posted by Earl Sleek from Anaheim, CA on 01/22/09 at 05:37 PM ET

Well, per modus operandi of the NHL front office, if approved for trial, they’ll probably do this at either the AHL or ECHL level to see if it’s a good idea.

But I think the idea is going to be shot down in March, anyway.  It’s a “thinking outside of the box” idea worth exploring somewhat to help gain greater exposure for the league so they can land that elusive network TV contract.

Posted by SYF from a "Bron-Y-Aur Stomp" on 01/22/09 at 05:41 PM ET

The thought in this case is to create a Super Bowl-like atmosphere.

I understand the sentiment to want to create a Super-Bowl-like atmosphere, but this isn’t how you do it.  The reason the Super Bowl is so popular isn’t because of where it is, it’s that it is a culmination of the entire season in one game.

You can’t have a “Stanley Cup Finals Party” like you can have a “Super Bowl Party”, unless you make your SCF party last a whole week, or have one for an elimination game, but keep it on the schedule for maybe a couple more… etc.  I think, honestly, that is what makes them so different.

And, no, I don’t think the NHL should try to tinker with the Finals like this at all.  Perhaps the most they should do is something spawned from what Baroque mentioned - let the team with the better regular-season record decide on whose ice to begin the series.

Posted by BuzzFledderjohn on 01/22/09 at 05:43 PM ET

The only way this works is if you make the whole Cup Finals at a neutral site.

Something which, were it to happen, would drive me away from the game of hockey.  Swear to God.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 01/22/09 at 08:01 PM ET

“Something which, were it to happen, would drive me away from the game of hockey.  Swear to God. “

Wow, you must be quite the hockey fan…

I’m definitely not for this, but let’s all not jump off the highest building around just because something is suggested.

Posted by Garth on 01/22/09 at 09:18 PM ET

Garth, I think you mispercieve two things:  First, I said were it to happen, so since my post was rather short and I doubt that comment could possibly have been lost amidst a great stream of words and ideas… I wonder at your grasp of my comment.  Secondly, I don’t quite believe you are comprehending the import of such a practice on the league and how funadmentally it would change something as critical to the NHL as the Stanley Cup.

I’m a Wings fan and it makes me sick to my stomach that the GM of my team would support such an idea, to the point of bringing it up at a legitimate forum.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 01/23/09 at 04:26 AM ET