Remember that overturned goal for goaltender interference? Or that frustrating time when a big tally was taken off the board because a player was an inch offside?
Tom Wilson does, and he’s kind of over it.
When speaking to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour last week, Wilson was asked by the longtime national reporter, “If you could change or drop one rule in the NHL, what would it be?”
Wilson’s bold idea was to go back to a time when there were no video cameras, goal reviews, penalty boxes, ice resurfacers, or electricity in arenas.
“I think we’re getting pretty nitpicky on all these different rules, like leg up over the blue line, all the cameras,” Wilson said. “Too much gets screwed up. As we get crazier and crazier, it’s just counterproductive. I just want to go back and play it like it was in the 1800s or whenever the game was invented.”
For Wilson, wanting a simpler game makes sense. When you’re the biggest, strongest, and most physical player on the ice, you can get away with a lot more when games lack video review or good lighting. This would be a big tactical advantage for Wilson, making one of the best overall players in the NHL even more effective.
The first organized indoor ice hockey game was played in Montreal on March 3, 1875. If Wilson played hockey then, he would have been the kind of player opposing teams described in the newspaper as “a large and unpleasant gentleman.”
Just imagine this broad-shouldered bruiser rocking a thick wool sweater and flying down rough natural ice in leather skates. Holding a tree branch for a stick, he’d barrel through opponents, sporting either a tremendous mustache or sideburns that made you wonder whether he also chopped firewood between periods.
Got a problem with 1800s Thomas? Put up your dukes and settle it with some old-fashioned fisticuffs. Winner gets the horse-drawn carriage home.
As for where the sport is now, Wilson was effusive — minus the social media part, which was not a thing in the 1800s either.
“I think there’s a great momentum behind the game right now,” he said. “Obviously, everybody has an avenue to say whatever they want at any time, so that’s always interesting. But it’s part of the gig.”
