Mano: Imagining the NHL's New Year's Resolutions

As we begin 2017, many of us are trying to become a better person in the New Year, whether it's become closer with family or eat healthier. The NHL is no exception. While the NHL did a great job in 2016, such as reviving the All-Star Game and implementing 3v3 overtime in the regulation, there is still work to be done. If I were Gary Bettman (I think I'd be better at that job than he is), here's what I would do to improve the NHL heading into the new year.

- Go back to white uniforms at home. This might be more of a personal preference than a hockey crisis, but they need to switch it back immediately. I never got why they made the change in the first place, and I think it'd be better for season ticket holders/home fans if you saw more variety of colors when opposing teams travel to town rather than white... every game.
- Get rid of the loser point, and change the standings while you're at it. I hate it every time it happens. Tied game, two minutes left, and the quality of play begins to drift off because coaches decide they want to play the regulation period out and get the free point heading into overtime and the shootout. I want the last few minutes of a game to matter; that's when play should pick up and get even more intense. What we need is 3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for an overtime win, 1 point for a shootout win, and 0 points for any kind of loss. This way you're still getting points no matter which way you win but you're also putting emphasis on more effort, as you lose points the longer the game goes on.

- Eliminate the puck-over-glass penalty. Why we continue penalize something that 9 times out of 10 is accidental is beyond me, especially when it could mean winning or losing a game if it's called in overtime. Just get rid of the penalty and instead have a faceoff in the defensive zone with no chances for a line change. Essentially, an icing.
- Add another expansion team. Starting next year, we will have 31 teams in the NHL. I think expansion is great for the league and I think hockey in Las Vegas will work. The only problem now is we have an uneven number teams, which really does nothing to help solve the unbalanced conferences. I think Seattle should be the next stop (they have a really good market for hockey but they need to get in there before the NBA returns), with Kansas City as a backup option. This way we have 32 teams, an ideal number of teams with conferences now being even. I'd like to see the NHL go to other markets such as Quebec City or Hamilton, but it's safe to say that won't be happening unless a team decides to relocate (I'm looking at you, Carolina.)
- Create a streamlined suspension guideline. The NHL is is more inconsistent when it comes to suspensions than the NFL is at determining what a catch is, and that's saying something. They need to create a guideline on how to suspend players based on the offense and how many times the player has received discipline in the past. Also, don't include injury in the equation because injuries does not make the play illegal, the rule book does.
- Finally, bring back the glow puck for televised game. Nope, just kidding. Never bring this back.
This is just a small list of ways the NHL can improve and expand it's game. Heck, I have a document full of hundreds of rule changes and modifications I'd like to see. That's not to say I don't like our game the way it is, as it's probably the most exciting it has been in a long time with new talent such as Connor McDavid and Austen Matthews. However, there's still some things they can do better. If you have some other ideas, put them below. I'd like to hear what others have to say about this.