from Adam Proteau of The Hockey News,

At this time of year, when NHL and hockey news can get somewhat scarce, it’s as good a time as any to take a step back, look at the game’s big picture, and bring up some issues that might get lost in the shuffle once the sport is back in full bloom.

With that in mind, here are Three Ways We’d Change The NHL:

3. Install An “Eye-In-The-Sky” Referee: The ongoing electronic revolution has forced sports leagues to reevaluate the way their games are officiated: to wit, Major League Baseball is now hotly debating the implementation of robotic home plate umpires to call balls and strikes. There are some people who are against such a move, and they make fair points; at some level, in any system, human judgment will come into play, and human judgment is fraught with the potential for error....

2. Create A Luxury Tax For The Salary Cap: The NHL loves to tout its current collective bargaining agreement as providing parity for all teams, but those who look closer can see that’s not as true as they’d like it to be. Granted, the salary cap floor and ceiling provide a more even playing field for all franchises, but the notion that everyone is on the same level is simply wrong....

1. Make The Net Bigger: Yes, we’re well-aware NHL teams averaged 3.14 goals-for per game last season – the highest number since the 1995-96 campaign, when it hit the same average – but only two years ago, it dipped to 2.94 GF/GP, and for the bulk of the past dozen seasons, it has hovered in the 2.7-2.8 range. This is the natural order of things in the sport: once teams find a way to break out and score more, coaches and players inevitably find ways in which to stymie their offensive successes.

much more on each of the above topics...