Time to Give Credit Where Credit is Due

We are now approximately one third of the way through this OHL Season.  So as I was driving alone in my car one day I heard Bob McCown on the Fan 590 elaborating once again an idea that he feels is long overdue in the NHL.  And the more I thought about it, the more I thought, why not try it out in the OHL.

 

Simply put, it is an idea that hockey purists (hello Ed Burkholder?) out there are bound to hate.  But it is one I think, that is worthy of serious consideration.  It should give credit ultimately to true success in League Play.

 

For a number of years now, in an attempt to keep teams from playing ultimately for a tie in the dying minutes of a close game, we have seen the advent of sudden death, four on four overtime for five minutes.  The idea of course is that both teams will go all out in an attempt to gain one extra point in the standings by winning in OT.  Fewer players on the ice should provide extra skating room and more offence.  At least that is the theory.

 

Furthermore, if a win is not produced in OT, then we send it to the dreaded Shootout, which goes on until a winner is finally decided.  Losers in OT or Shootout shouldn't go home empty handed, so the loss is rewarded with one point in the standings.

 

In my mind, I agree with Bob McCown.  Why should a loss be worth only one fewer point than a win, just because the game could not be decided in Regulation Time?  Let's really encourage teams to go all out to win in 60 minutes.  And the way to accomplish this you ask, is to change the way we reward wins and losses.

 

Let's award 4 points for a win in Regulation Time, 3 points for a win in OT and 2 points for a win in the Shootout.  If you still must provide a reward for surviving sixty minutes, then you can still award one point for a loss in OT or by Shootout.

 

I would suggest that you will see fewer teams simply "hanging on" for OT or a shootout, because I think you will see more offensive creativity from coaches in the dying minutes or during extra time.  The reason of course would be the extra incentive of more than just a one point difference.  This would be especially true I would suggest in tight playoff races late in the season.  And in the end, this would be more fun for the fans.

 

Listed below are the current standings (at the time of writing) compared to the 4-3-2-1 format.  I would love to hear you the fans on this, so I encourage your comments.

 

And yes Ed Burkholder, Bob and I just might be crazy!

	Current Standings As Of
	November 12, 2008
	Eastern Conference
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	SL	Pts
1	Brampton Battalion	20	14	6	0	0	28
2	Belleville Bulls	21	13	6	1	1	28
3	Ottawa 67's	21	11	9	0	1	23
4	Sudbury Wolves	18	9	7	1	1	20
5	Oshawa Generals	20	9	10	0	1	19
6	Peterborough Petes	21	9	11	0	1	19
7	Niagara Ice Dogs	21	6	8	3	4	19
8	Barrie Colts	19	8	10	1	0	17
9	Mississauga St.Mike's Majors	18	7	10	0	1	15
10	Kingston Frontenacs	21	5	12	4	0	14
	Western Conference
Rank	Team	GP	W	L	OTL	SL	Pts
1	Windsor Spitfires	21	19	2	0	0	38
2	London Knights	20	14	5	0	1	29
3	Guelph Storm	21	12	7	1	1	26
4	Saginaw Spirit	18	12	6	0	0	24
5	Sault Ste.Marie Greyhounds	19	10	8	1	0	21
6	Erie Otters	20	10	9	1	0	21
7	Sarnia Sting	19	9	8	1	1	20
8	Owen Sound Attack	19	7	8	3	1	18
9	Kitchener Rangers	18	7	9	1	1	16
10	Plymouth Whalers	19	6	11	2	0	14
	Revised 4-3-2-1 Standings
	As of November 12,2008
	Eastern Conference
Rank	Team	GP	W	OTW	SOW	L	OTL	SOL	Pts
1	Belleville Bulls	21	12	0	1	6	1	1	52
2	Brampton Battalion	20	11	1	2	6	0	0	49
3	Ottawa 67's	21	11	0	0	9	0	1	45
4	Sudbury Wolves	18	8	0	1	7	1	1	36
5	Peterborough Petes	21	7	2	0	11	0	1	35
6	Oshawa Generals	20	7	1	1	10	0	1	34
7	Barrie Colts	19	7	1	0	10	1	0	34
8	Niagara Ice Dogs	21	6	0	0	8	3	4	31
9	Mississauga St.Mike's Majors	18	6	0	1	10	0	1	27
10	Kingston Frontenacs	21	4	1	0	12	4	0	23
	Western Conference
Rank	Team	GP	W	OTW	SOW	L	OTL	SOL	Pts
1	Windsor Spitfires	21	17	1	1	2	0	0	73
2	London Knights	20	11	3	0	5	0	1	54
3	Saginaw Spirit	18	10	1	1	6	0	0	45
4	Guelph Storm	21	8	2	2	7	1	1	42
5	Erie Otters	20	10	0	0	9	1	0	41
6	Sarnia Sting	19	8	1	0	8	1	1	37
7	Sault Ste.Marie Greyhounds	19	5	4	1	8	1	0	35
8	Owen Sound Attack	19	5	1	1	8	3	1	29
9	Kitchener Rangers	18	5	1	1	9	1	1	27
10	Plymouth Whalers	19	4	0	2	11	2	0	22