Rob Blake Saved OT Playoff Hockey

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

At the same time it [NHL] was considering all the changes that have made the post-lockout game so entertaining, it came within a Rob Blake vote on the competition committee of going to 4-on-4 in overtime. (His vote was the deciding one and he decided against it.)

The Hockey News

What a horrendously bad decision that would have been. I would have been livid had the NHL went to 4-on-4 OT in the playoffs. I understand it for the regular season and all because you want to have a clear cut winner quickly, but this is the playoffs. 5-on-5 OT playoff hockey is amazing and does nothing but good for the game. Why would you destroy that?

Thank you Rob Blake.

Sincerely,

All NHL fans

[stevkrause 1,247]

I never thought I'd say this, but...

I love you Rob Blake.

[Travis 576]

I never thought I'd say this, but...

I love you Rob Blake.

Rob Blake is awesome. I would've loved to see him in a Winged Wheel.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

I'm shocked that the vote was even close. Who are those morons?

[crotty99 302]

I'm shocked that the vote was even close. Who are those morons?

My thoughts exactly, do we know who else was apart of the vote?

[betterREDthandead 58]

My thoughts exactly, do we know who else was apart of the vote?

I was apart of the vote. I had nothing to do with it.

[Guest Crymson]

I'm shocked that the vote was even close. Who are those morons?

Shanahan almost certainly voted in favor of 4v4 overtime. He even suggested, a couple of years ago, that he'd like to see the NHL move away from continuous overtime in the playoffs.

[seeinred 1,488]

I was apart of the vote. I had nothing to do with it.

Can you imagine the blowback if that were actually adopted? Who doesn't love a nice, long playoff OT? We would have virtually guaranteed to almost never see that if they went to 4 on 4.

[hooon 1,089]

How did it ever get that close?

[Wings_Dynasty 267]

I was apart of the vote. I had nothing to do with it.

I got it.

[NeverForgetMac25 483]

I'm shocked that the vote was even close. Who are those morons?

QFT

I can't imagine them destroying the integrity of the postseason in this way.

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

So if it was so close, then there may be a good chance that we'll see this implemented real soon.

I figured only a few guys would vote for it, and would get laughed out of the room. I guess not.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

Shanahan almost certainly voted in favor of 4v4 overtime. He even suggested, a couple of years ago, that he'd like to see the NHL move away from continuous overtime in the playoffs.

Somebody better slap Shanny upside the head then.

So if it was so close, then there may be a good chance that we'll see this implemented real soon.

I figured only a few guys would vote for it, and would get laughed out of the room. I guess not.

It's probably along the lines of changing the game to attract new fans. You know, those fans that will watch for a game or two and then never watch again. Never mind the thousands of loyal fans that feel s*** on by the NHL.

[Guest Lidstromboli]

NHL.

[Guest Howard He Do It?!]

NHL.

I think Tobias would do a better job than Bettman.

[MannyK 16]

I think they should leave the 1st OT as it is... 5-on-5 for 20 min, and then all subsequent OTs should be 4-on-4.

[Heroes of Hockeytown 694]

All of the overtime games this season have only lasted a few minutes anyways, and going back to last season exactly one game reached multiple OTs -- Wings-Ducks Game 2. Seems that the current system is resolving the large majority of extra-time games in rapid enough fashion, no need to try and expedite the process any further (at the price of the integrity of the game no less).

Edited April 20, 2010 by Heroes of Hockeytown

[mjlegend 155]

Horrid idea. Wtf, Rob?

Rob Blake is awesome. I would've loved to see him in a Winged Wheel.

Well, depending on if the Sharks lose in the first round and want to rebuild, and how this may be Lidstrom's last year playing... maybe Lids' $5 million for which we've all pencilled him in could go to Blake for a one-year deal.

It's a thought.

[SuperNovaXll 124]

Thank god for Rob Blake! This would have been such a terrible move for hockey! (on that note...surprised it didnt happen..). I look forward to seeing those rare double, triple OT games each year!

As everyone else said, I cant believe it was that close...

[GMRwings1983 8,794]

Didn't Robert Blake get accused of killing his wife?

Edited April 20, 2010 by GMRwings1983

[Guest Shoreline]

What a horrendously bad decision that would have been. I would have been livid had the NHL went to 4-on-4 OT in the playoffs. I understand it for the regular season and all because you want to have a clear cut winner quickly, but this is the playoffs. 5-on-5 OT playoff hockey is amazing and does nothing but good for the game. Why would you destroy that?

Thank you Rob Blake.

Sincerely,

All NHL fans

Saved playoff hockey with an ass check.

The NHL needs to stop ******* with things that aren't broken.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Shanahan almost certainly voted in favor of 4v4 overtime. He even suggested, a couple of years ago, that he'd like to see the NHL move away from continuous overtime in the playoffs.

link? source?

I think the competition committee is made up of 4 NHL players, four GM's, and one owner. I would hope that all the players voted to keep OT the way it is. so I have to wonder who the idiot GM's are.

EDIT: Looks like it was Bob Gainey, Kevin Lowe, David Poile, and Don Waddell for the GM's, and Ed Snider, owner of the Flyers.

Edited April 21, 2010 by haroldsnepsts

[Buppy 1,720]

Curious why Blake gets the credit. Presumably, all the votes count the same, which means that Blake's vote was no more decisive than the others who voted the same way.

[AIK'91 22]

Curious why Blake gets the credit. Presumably, all the votes count the same, which means that Blake's vote was no more decisive than the others who voted the same way.

That's what I was wondering. Maybe he was the last one to vote and everyone knew he would be the tiebreaker.

[mmamolo 287]

I was apart of the vote. I had nothing to do with it.

clever

The NHL has done so much in terms of penalties, the trapezoid, eliminating two line passes etc in order to increase goal scoring which helps to end OT games sooner. There is no need to adopt a 4 on 4 playoff overtime structure in order to simply end games sooner. The whole idea seems ridiculous and would absolutely hurt the integrity of the game.