Last year, the Stanley Cup was not awarded for the first time since 1919. It was in that year that a severe case of Spanish Influenza ravaged the Pacific Northwest, rendering the Seattle Metropolitans physically unable to complete their championship series versus Montreal, leaving Lord Stanley’s mug without a winner. In 2004-2005 it was not the Spanish Flu that prevented the crowning of a Cup champ, but instead an unhealthy dose of contract negotiations and collective bargaining, which resulted in the cancellation of the entire National Hockey League season.

There is no question that the relief over cost certainty the teams’ owners felt in the wake of the new collective bargaining agreement has now been replaced by the great uncertainty of how fans will react to the beginning of a new era of NHL hockey. Feelings of excitement and promise will most certainly be offset by feelings of betrayal and sheer indifference.

The NHL has taken strides to prevent the latter feelings from emerging in hockey fans across the globe, with the most obvious and controversial of these changes being modifications to the game itself. The NHL rulebook has been altered by the league in an attempt to increase fan base, or at the very least, not lose fans they already held before the lockout a year ago.

Whether it’s through the addition of a shootout to break ties or smaller equipment for goalies, the recent rule changes clearly illustrate the NHL’s desire to increase goal scoring in regular season games. However, these misguided changes have drawn an unfounded conclusion equating goal scoring with overall excitement. The occasional 9-5 shootout is certainly a welcomed outburst of scoring for most hockey fans, but I’m sure most fans would agree that the thrill of a fast-paced, end-to-end 2-1 or 3-2 game surely breeds more excitement than the arcade-style shooting galleries the NHL is striving for.

The key concept to recognize here is that it is not simply scoring goals that leads to a more exciting product, but rather scoring chances. A flurry of shots around a team’s net or a nice passing play is exciting regardless of whether or not a goal is actually scored. The chances don’t all need to be converted, they just need to be a regular part of the game play, which in the past NHL seasons, they simply haven’t been.

The NHL has recently taken positive strides in this direction, most notably the removal of the red line and a commitment to cracking down on neutral zone obstruction; but, unfortunately for hockey fans, defensive minded coaches have spent all summer concocting ways of circumventing these rules in order to continue their dreary style of play, clearly illustrating that there is more work to be done in changing the game for the better.

This season will definitely be a tell-tale campaign for the NHL, as it is no secret the league has gone to great pains in order to win back the affection of its devoted fans. But if NHL higher-ups continue to believe that more goals equals more gains, the ‘coolest game on Earth’ may soon be on thin ice.

-Matt Ventresca

So the NHL lockout has come and gone. Die-hard hockey addicts, who have been denied their fix, are rejoicing as their drug is set to return in full force. The thirst for Canada’s unofficial national game will be quenched. Here in Toronto, the mighty Maple Leafs return to the Air Canada Centre in hopes of ending a Stanley Cup drought that is steadily approaching 40 years. No curse of the Bambino, but still quite a considerable length of time given the city’s fervour for hockey. Now this begs the question, although Toronto missed its Maple Leafs did it support other teams? Ultimately, is Toronto a true hockey town, or simple a Leafs town?

Let’s look for examples of possible places for people to go and see hockey in Toronto. The American Hockey League, which is considered to be the minor league equivalent of the National Hockey League, didn’t even have a team in Toronto last year. With the Roadrunners closing shop and the Toronto Marlies moving into the Ricoh Coliseum this year, 2004/2005 served as an empty year for A.H.L. hockey in Toronto. If the people didn’t go here, where else did they go?

There are the St Michaels Majors of the Ontario Hockey League. They play out of St Michaels Arena, which has a very accessible location for people in the city. They provide fans with a taste of up and coming players that have serious potential to make the N.H.L. The players play with grit and determination in the hopes that they can achieve their childhood dreams of doing something they love for a living. The tickets cost a measly $12.50 a game, yet out of the entire league, the lowest average attendance per game belongs to the Majors. So if the people aren’t going here, where are they going?

This brings us lastly to our beloved Varsity Blues. This team plays out of historic Varsity Arena-a location that couldn’t be any more accessible to Torontonians. In the past 5 years U of T has boasted division champions in every season, and have been ranked in the top 10 in Canada in 4 of the past five years. These seem to be results not attained by other teams in Toronto, yet the Blues have the lowest attendance of all. This fact is very strange, considering they also have the lowest admission fee.

These three examples only point to the fact that Toronto is a “Leafs” town, not a hockey town. When the mighty Maple Leafs return, those who call themselves hockey fans can report back to their local bar, or sit in front of their televisions and watch. Any hockey that isn’t the N.H.L. will never be successful in this city, simply because we are a city of Leaf fans, and not hockey fans.

-Mike Lymer