We all love hockey but most fans have at least some problems with it and with how things are done. Today, let's make some changes that would overall improve the game as a whole, and though some of these will clearly never be done, some have been talked about by fans for quite a while.
1. Stick to the NHL Rulebook at all times
Now, this is the most obvious one and something that would be laughed at if you had not been watching for long, but it will never not blow the minds of fans that there is a rulebook and it is not followed. The crackdown after the last full season lockout on holding and interference had a massive impact on the game and improved it in an equally massive way. The game got faster, more goals were scored and skilled players were allowed to be skilled without being grabbed onto by players who had a third of the talent. While the holding is not out of control now, thanks to that, the NHL still has other areas that it can improve on by doing what it should have been the whole time.
Call all the stick infractions. A one-handed tap to the gloves is two minutes when it did not impact the play, and the argument is it is in the rulebook, which is fine, but big chops to the ankles and crosschecks right to the lower back along the boards are called at random. Don't take physicality out of the game but a crosscheck is a viscous play and not needed when the legal play is to use your gloves or shoulder to move the other player. It's still physical but not as likely to lead to injuries.
The third part of this first point is call the rulebook at all times, including playoffs. The NHL always puts the whistles away when the regular season is over, and the number one thing said is, "The refs don't want to impact the game," but this is a terrible take because they are impacting the play by doing nothing. Last season, Trouba destroyed Meier; this season, he could have ended Martin Necas' career if that leaping chicken wing elbow to the head landed. Sam Benett's forearm shot to Marchand was brutal and is something no fan wants to see happen to their own stars, but it will always be not just an option for teams but almost a priority with how many of the dirty teams go deep every season.
Call the rulebook every game because that is the entire reason to have a rulebook and people will 100% know the standard at all times and at all levels of play and games should not escalate due to bad reffing. People want to watch physical hockey not dirty hockey and this will let the stars and players people pay to watch do what they are supposed to do without removing the physical nature of our game.