The National Hockey League introduced the shootout at the beginning of the 2005-06 season following the lockout as a way of attracting a broader spectrum of hockey fans over the world, especially in smaller hockey markets.

During its inaugural season, the shootout was craved by fans everywhere. People were excited to see the best players and goaltenders in the league going 1 on 1. Obviously, this was just during the regular season, as overtime in the playoffs was still continuous until a goal was scored.

However, the shootout was heavily criticized by many hockey experts and analysts over North America. They thought the shootout was tampering with the heart and soul of the NHL. They stated that one day the shootout (which was mainly inserted into the NHL for entertainment) would cost a team a playoff spot.

They were right. Last season the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers played their final game against each other with the winner moving on to the playoffs and the loser hitting the links. The game was tied after regulation and nobody could find the back of the net in the 5 minute, 4 on 4 overtime period that is played before the shootout. The Philadelphia Flyers went on to win the shootout and ended up making it to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they fell to the powerful Chicago Blackhawks in 6 games.

Experts believed, and to which I concur, the game between the Rangers and the Flyers should have been played with continuous overtime instead of going to the shootout, as the shootout was an unnatural way to eliminate a team from the post season.

Now here we are, less than a decade since the shootout was introduced to the NHL, and there is talk on how we can eliminate it from the game. The initial season’s hype for the shootout wore off quickly as many teams signed players that were specialists on breakaways, so they could play a trap game to get to the shootout, and have the best opportunity at the coveted extra point.

There have been many proposals as to how to eliminate it; the most popular seems to belong to Detroit Red Wings General Manager, Ken Holland. He suggested switching to an 8 minute overtime, 4 minutes of 4 on 4 hockey followed by 4 minutes of 3 on 3 hockey if there was still no winner. This would surely open the ice up during 3 on 3 play, and anyone that has ever played hockey knows that battling for both the puck, and position, is very fatiguing.

Another popular choice would be more likely to end the game in regulation, but once in overtime, would do nothing different to change how teams played. The winning team in this option was awarded 3 points for a regulation win. If the game was decided in overtime the winning team would get 2 points and the losing team 1. This option may not seem like it would eliminate the shootout to some people, but if there is a possibility of getting an extra point for deciding the game in regulation, you can bet teams would not be sitting back and waiting for overtime just so they get at least 1 point. Reasons against adopting this option is that it would ruin records set for points in a year if teams were consistently getting 3 points instead of 2.

I have an option that I myself thought would eliminate the shootout and have never heard suggested. Though it may not be popular amongst the league, it still is worth mentioning. Continue with the game the way it is being played. Still have 5 minutes of overtime, but instead of going to the shootout if it is tied after overtime, the game ends and both teams are awarded 0 points. You can bet that teams would not be trying to get to overtime just for a single point (which they would still receive for an overtime loss), for the fear of no one being able to score and receiving no points. You can also rest assured that if the game makes it into overtime, teams would not be playing the trap, they would be creating new offensive plays that they could use. Those creative plays, I can only imagine, would be extremely entertaining for the fans.

What choice the NHL decides to go with still remains to be seen, but there are viable options out there. Of course, there is no guarantee that there will be a change. There are people out there who like the way things are. However, the shootout is beginning to show signs of doing the opposite of what it was intended. The bottom line is, the NHL is going to do what's best for the fans, not what the players, coaches and GMs want, because the fans are what is keeping this game alive.

Let us know if you think the shootout needs to be removed, and what you think the best ways to eliminate it are.