From what I have heard and read here in Boston, the speed of these Olympic
games has caught the fancy of the hockey loving public.  In addition, I saw
a quote from Brett Hull today that, if it was up to him, he would have the
no red line and larger rink become part of the NHL.  From all I have seen on
TV these past few days, a change in the rules should be a no-brainer.
Hockey is supposed to be a game of speed and skill, not one about clutching
and grabbing.

However, there is an opposing view.  These points seem obvious to most of us
but I did talk to a couple of guys in my office today who like the NHL just
the way it is.  They seem to think that opening up the game would eliminate
the physical part of things and make it more like the "prissy" European
style.  They want to see some hard checking (and some fights), something
that they think would be eliminated if the NHL went to Olympic rules.  When
I told them that there was plenty of hard hitting in college hockey, they
were pretty skeptical.

So I guess not everyone who loves hockey loves the wide open game.  I agree
we will never see the 100 x 200 rinks but if we just eliminated the two line
pass I would be a lot happier.  At least it would get rid of the likes of
Hal Gill!

Greg Ambrose