from Bob McKenzie of TSN,

"Don't kid yourself," an NHL general manager told me on the eve of the 2015-16 regular season, "the (NHL) coaches will have this dummied down in no time."

Really?

"Give us some time," an NHL head coach added, "and we'll make three-on-three as boring as four-on-four had become."

They're probably right. We would be foolish to think otherwise. Give 30 NHL coaching staffs the incentive to break down every aspect of what superficially looks like just five minutes or less of fun hockey and they're bound to find way to organize it, execute it and, ultimately, stifle it.

"The Fun Police," the unnamed NHL GM added, "are on the case."

Still, it's going to be fascinating to watch, whether we're talking about the actual OT or how the coaches will go about gaining control over what we would like to think is uncontrollable.

much more