The National Hockey League general managers wrapped up their annual meetings in the California desert last week. As usual, one major topic of conversation was how to speed up the game and increase the flow of play.
It seems -- in recent years, at least -- that the league has become obsessed with increasing offensive play and getting scoring up. At the same time, many of the teams -- the less-skilled expansion clubs, in particular -- are constantly trying to come up with a new array of defensive schemes designed to shackle the game's more talented skaters.
But if it's a more wide-open, high-scoring game the powers-that-be in the NHL want, the answers may be close at hand.
Last weekend at Tokyo's Higashi-Fushimi Ice Arena, I had the opportunity to sit down and discuss this issue with someone who has played pro hockey on both sides of the Pacific.
Corey Foster was the 12th player taken overall in the first round of the NHL draft in 1988 by the New Jersey Devils. Foster, an Ottawa native, played a total of 48 games in the NHL over the next nine seasons with New Jersey, the Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Islanders.
While Foster's NHL career may have been disappointing for such a high draft choice, the 190-cm, 98-kg defenseman has found a new hockey home with the Kokudo Bunnies of the Japan League.
The 31-year-old Foster is one of the smoothest-skating players on the ice with good puck-handling skills, which makes him a formidable force when his size is factored in. Currently in his fourth season in Japan, Foster has averaged nearly a point a game.
While he has been plagued by rib and back injuries this season, Foster says he should be good to go for the playoffs, which begin this weekend.
We spoke about the state of hockey today and what changes -- if any -- should be implemented. We also talked about one of his more famous teammates during his stint in Pittsburgh.
Q: So, how do you think the game has changed in the NHL over the last decade or so?
A: I think with the game back in North America the guys are so big and fast now. The rinks are smaller than here and they've got the red line there too, so it doesn't give you a lot of room to move around, especially for the big skilled guys. I would take the red line out of the game back home if they want to improve the speed of the game.
You mentioned the bigger Olympic-sized ice surfaces here in Japan. How much does something like that affect the game?
I like to skate with the puck, so having a little extra ice is definitely nice when you have the puck, but defending is also a lot tougher, too. The defensive zone is a lot bigger so the skilled players are tougher to defend as well.
As a defenseman, was it hard to adjust when the red line was taken out of play? (Note: In Japan, a pass that crosses one of the blue lines and the center red line no longer results in an offside call. The two-line pass is still called offside in the NHL.)
No, my first year they still had the red line in effect here, but the last three years there's been no red line. It's good (having no red-line rule) because it speeds up the game. You can make a long pass to a guy for a breakaway, it's exciting, it's what the fans want to see. They want to see exciting hockey. They don't want to see the whistle blown for a pass that's two inches offside.
Nowadays, we hear a lot about defensive systems such as the neutral-zone trap and left-wing lock, which are basically designed to clog up the ice and smother the more offensive teams. Do you think the NHL might have to address this -- in effect, maybe putting in an illegal-defense rule as the NBA did a few years back -- or do you feel the game is fine the way it is?
It's a great game and you don't like to make changes, but the players are changing. The game's a lot different than it was 20 years ago. The guys are so much better now . . . it's a different game and I think they have to adjust it a little bit (to accommodate the players' skill level). I'm not sure what changes are needed, but the trap and everything, that just gets a little frustrating after a while, it's a little boring. Good defensive hockey is still part of the game but there's got to be some balance.
Do you think the recent annual expansion of NHL franchises and the desire of these new teams to keep scoring down in the hopes of earning a tie or a 2-1 win is adding to the perceived offensive woes of the league?
The top lines of the expansion teams are third- or second-line players at best on other teams, so I think they have to win games off their system, and the trap is one way of doing that, frustrating other teams.
Penguins star Mario Lemieux has been quoted as saying he would like to play the entire game with four skaters aside, the same format that is currently used in overtime.
What's the difference? You might as well just take the red line out. Really, taking the red line away I don't think would be that big a deal in the NHL. It would make the game a lot more exciting, for sure, that's what I think. The guys are just so big and fast and look at how small the ice is back home. There's no room to operate. Open it up a little and take the red line away, since they're not going to make Olympic-size rinks back home.
Why don't they start making the ice surfaces larger in North America? Wouldn't it help develop better skaters?
You have to remember one thing: back home, hockey is a business. In Japan, it's sort of entertainment for the fans and it's not really run like a business here. But back home it's a business and the bottom line is the dollar, so taking away a few rows of seats will never happen.
I mentioned Mario Lemieux earlier. You played 14 games with Super Mario in Pittsburgh during the 1995-96 campaign. Were you surprised when he came back this season after a 31/2-year layoff?
No, he probably needed the three years' rest for his back. He was still young enough to come back and he thought this was his only chance, since he's still young enough to play. I'm sure he didn't want to regret not doing it later. Are you surprised at all by the success he's had?
No, not at all. I said right off the bat I thought he'd make it into the Top 20 in scoring. I doubt he'll do that now, but he still might come close.
One of your Kokudo teammates, defenseman Yujiro Nakajimaya, attended the Nashville Predators' training camp prior to this season. Do you think we'll ever see a born-and-bred Japanese player skating for an NHL team?
That's a tough call. I look at a guy like (veteran forward Toshiyuki) Sakai on our team and he's big enough, strong enough, but he never really had the exposure, never really had the chance. I think as hockey in Japan expands, maybe there'll be a chance for somebody like that. It's possible, for sure.
You're still in your hockey-playing prime. With all the recent expansion in the NHL, do you ever think about trying a comeback of your own?
(Laughing) Well, if it was that easy, I'd go back for sure. But I enjoy playing here in Japan, I enjoy my teammates and playing for Kokudo. I guess I'd really have to think it over if the actual opportunity ever came up.