NHL 2005 Rule Changes Worth the Gamble
Increased Scoring and Attendance Prove That Hockey Needed a Boost
Oct 3, 2009
The 2009-2010 NHL hockey season marks the fifth season since the 2004 lockout. Before resuming play the following season, the NHL and NHLPA agreed to a set of rules changes designed to increase offense, make the game more interesting to the casual observer and win back fans estranged by the loss of an entire year of play.
With a significant number of seasons now passed under the new rules, which continue to be modified and added to, it is safe to ask if they have had the intended effect. The answer should be fairly easy to determine – by looking at scoring numbers over the past four seasons and a comparable sample prior to the lockout, along with attendance numbers, the comparison should be relatively clear.
Unfortunately, the same comparison cannot reasonably be performed on national television ratings. In the same timeframe that is being discussed, the NHL transitioned from being televised in the United States on ESPN to Versus, which is not available on the same number of service providers.
Summary of 2005 National Hockey League Rule Changes
In July 2005 the NHL’s board of governors approved possibly one of the most radical sets of rule changes in the league’s long history. Many of the rules themselves are not all that extreme; in fact, some of the rules merely reverted back to the way they had been years before. What was radical, however, was the fact that so many changes occurred at the same time.
A large portion of the new rules were intended to increase offense. In order to create more chances for goals to be scored, the NHL implemented a zero-tolerance policy for “obstruction” (that is, actions that impede the ability of opposing players to move freely when not carrying the puck). In addition, the two-line pass was made legal once more, goaltenders were restricted in terms of where they could play the puck as well as the size of their pads, teams icing the puck were penalized by not being allowed to change lines in the ensuing stoppage of play and the offensive zones were expanded by moving the blue lines closer together, shrinking the neutral zone.
In addition to all of these offensively focused changes, the league also made the controversial move to decide games tied after the standard five minute overtime by a shootout.
Goal Scoring in NHL Rises
Statistically speaking, the updated rules appear to have had the desired impact on the game’s offensive numbers. In the four seasons since the lockout, the average number of goals scored per game are as follows: 6.17 in 2005-06, 5.89 in 2006-07, 5.57 in 2007-08, and 5.83 in 2008-09.
Compare this with the numbers for the four season prior to the lockout: 5.14 in 2003-04, 5.31 in 2002-03, 5.24 in 2001-02, and 5.51 in 2000-01.
Across these seasons, the number of goals being scored per game in the NHL varies by about one goal per every two games played. When studied on the basis of pure numbers, it appears that the offensive rule changes have been a success.
While the point can also be argued that the changes as discussed have made the game more appealing and exciting, with fast-paced action and spectacular plays being more common than they were prior to the lockout, it cannot be overlooked that the goals per game increase is hardly dramatic. A truer measure of the relative success of the lockout-inspired rules changes might be derived, therefore, from attendance numbers at NHL games over the same period of time.
Steady Attendance Rise in Post-Lockout Years
Attendance numbers for the NHL in the post-lockout years are encouraging and paint a positive picture for the league and the changes it made to its game. In the 2003-2004 season, the average attendance for a game in the National Hockey League was 16,538 people.
Post-lockout, each season’s average attendance numbers have grown, moving up from the 2005-2006 attendance of 16,955 to last season’s record high of 17,460 fans on average at each game.
Rule Changes a Gamble That Paid Off
Based on the brief review of the available statistics, the NHL took a gamble by significantly altering the way that its sport had been played and has seen that gamble become a success. Offensive numbers continue to climb in lock step with average attendance.
Of course, the NHL has also had the luxury in the years since the lockout of having a crop of highly talented and marketable young superstars to sell the game. This group, led by household names Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, cannot be overlooked in any discussion about the league’s success in attracting attention and selling tickets.
Then again, it is highly possible that they wouldn’t be as successful if the game still followed the rules of the late 1990s. Only time will tell if this positive trend for a league in need of continued good news will continue on.
