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I miss goals.

In 1990, Brett Hull scored 86 goals (57 at even strength), and Marty McSorley tied Theoren Fleury with a plus-48 rating to lead the league. I couldn’t pass that one up, it is like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito from Twins.

What are the simplest ways to increase scoring, aside from the obvious goalie equipment shrinkage?

Here are my top three:

1) Increase the net size by half an inch in each direction. It isn’t noticeable enough to the eye, but if 33 percent of shots that once hit the post now go in, it could be an extra goal a game over the entire season.

2) Expand the neutral zone. There is currently too much space between the top of the circles and the blue lines. D-to-d passes across the blue line in the offensive zone are frequent and easy. While occasionally they result in a goal, the inability to generate speed through the neutral zone diminishes scoring much more than the larger offensive zones creates offense.

3) Implementing an offensive zone faceoff advantage. Instead of the home team always receieving the advantage, provide the team in the offensive zone with that advantage. This will be especially influential when there are power plays.

These are all recycled ideas, but they would be the easiest to implement without significantly shaking up the landscape of play or the game.

Mike Cammalleri pointed out on Prime Time Sports that Cory Schneider said, “It doesn’t matter if you lead the league with a .900 save percentage or a .930 save percentage, you still led the league.”

There currently aren’t enough goals, and thankfully, one of the best goalies in the league understands it.

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Here is a list of potential buyout candidates, and while there are no surprises, the whole process reminded me that there are still inequities in the league despite the salary cap.

For example, the Toronto Maple Leafs just inked Mike Babcock for $50 million, and there are teams that’ll struggle to generate the funds to pay their players that much a season.

What is also shocking is how crippling these deals can be, especially the long-term ones with medium money. The players on the buyout list aren’t complete plugs, and at one time, they were all impact players. All buyouts still count against the cap and further bring down the ceiling of spending room.

It reverts back to the idea I threw out a few ramblings ago that until general managers stop throwing star money at mediocre players, especially with huge terms, there will continue to be contracts hanging over teams and limiting their cap flexibility.

Poor Columbus took on David Clarkson because their actual budget couldn’t afford to pay Nathan Horton to sit and watch, regardless of whether he counted against the cap or not. Now, Toronto, can pay Horton another $26.1 million to add cap space and put the Clarkson blunder behind them.

How many loafs of bread can you buy with $26.1 million?

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Here is my 2015 NHL Entry Draft Cheat Sheet from TheFakeHockey.com. I’ll be keeping it updated with news, resources and other interesting findings leading into next week’s draft.

Enjoy your weekend, and happy Father’s Day to all you pops out there.

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