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October 14, 2005
Globe and Mail Update
Eric Duhatschek
The National Hockey League fans' association, which boasts a membership of
28,000 across North America, and tried to make its constituents' collective
voice heard during the NHL lockout, had some good news for the league
Friday.
In a survey of its membership, the NHLFA reported that the league's
off-season rule changes, designed to enhance the entertainment value of the
game, received mostly positive notices.
The NHLFA poll showed:
- Three out of four (75%) agree that the new rules make the game more exciting to watch.
- The vast majority (91%) say that with all of the changes to the game, they are curious to see how this season plays out.
- Hard-core fans are particularly of the view that permitting longer passes will have a huge impact on the game.
- Only 38% agree with the new limitations on goaltenders handling the puck.
At the same time as the NHLFA conducted its polls, it also commissioned
Decima Research to conduct a survey among 600 adult Canadians who follow
hockey during a regular season - representing the 40 per cent of Canadians,
who can generally be regarded as "typical fans". The key findings of the
Decima study of typical fans were:
- Two-thirds (67 per cent) agree that the new rules make the game more exciting to watch.
- 81 per cent say that with all of the changes to the game, they are curious to see how this season plays out.
When the opinions of hard-care fans were compared to those of typical fans,
there were two major differences; one, relating to fighting, another to the
tag-up offside rule. Hard-core fans were much less supportive of the tougher
penalties for instigating a fight; but they were decisive in their support
for the return of tag-up offside.
Interestingly, on the shootout, while a majority of hard-core fans (54%)
agreed with the new rule, they lagged behind typical fans (60%) in their
support.
According to the NHLFA's Jim Boone, "Clamping down on obstruction and
opening up the game for skilled players has been a repeated call from fans
for years. Fans have good reason to cheer today."
The full results of both polls can be found at www.nhlfa.com/survey_results.asp
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