As I mentioned earlier, though, one of my primary beefs is the way this change was decided. It could and should have been done differently. For instance, two years ago there was talk in NHL circles that something had to be done to make hockey more exciting. Like the NHRA did when they changes the points system, the NHL commissioner and his rules committee could have simply came up with a new set of rules and implimented the changes. But that's not what happened. Instead, a group of players, general managers, coaches, and representatives of the NHL front office set down together at a table and came up with a set of recommendations. Most of those recommendations were instituted beginning last year. Moreover, prior to the changes being implimented, there was a great deal of discussion and debates in the hockey media about the proposed rule changes. Keep in mind, too, that some of those rule changes were far-reaching and had a dramatic effect on the way the game was traditionally played (for instance, the NHL ended tie games by adopting a shootout format following an overtime period). But because of the way the rule changes came about, the rules were accepted by all parties - including the players and the fans.
NASCAR and the NFL may get away with making arbitrary rule changes because they are both the widely popular big boys on the block. The NHRA and the NHL on the other hand, primarily appeal to hardcore fans and therefore neither can afford to alienate their base. Just has the NHL has had to come to grips that they are not the NFL, the NHRA also must understand that they are not NASCAR. And in my opinion the NHRA handled this situation badly.
