“Meet Joe Fan”, reads the opening of The Hockey News’ The Power to the People Reader Opinion Poll. After we solicited reader responses in a previous issue, more than 4,000 ballots poured in, as well as letters from fans wanting their say on the NHL. And the cover illustration by Ted Michener makes clear to whom these opinions are directed: league president John Ziegler.
“Meet Joe Fan”, reads the opening of The Hockey News’ The Power to the People Reader Opinion Poll. After we solicited reader responses in a previous issue, more than 4,000 ballots poured in, as well as letters from fans wanting their say on the NHL. And the cover illustration by Ted Michener makes clear to whom these opinions are directed: league president John Ziegler.
Looking back, it’s remarkable how relevant some of the 40-year-old arguments are with modern concerns. Among the items up for debate were the playoff format, length and importance of the regular season, and a fighting ban. For the record, fans weren’t in favor of prohibiting pugilism, though the margins today might be slimmer than the 63-37 result in 1984. And just like today, the shootout was a hot-button topic. Fans were in favor of the then-newfangled five-minute overtime – the majority even wanted it expanded to 10 minutes – but nearly 85 percent of respondents wanted to ensure the shootout never made its way to the NHL. The same goes for replay, as six out of every 10 polled said they’d prefer the NHL didn’t offer video assistance to referees.
This issue also had a feature on then-Devils newcomer Kirk Muller. Eighteen years-old at the time of the issue, Muller arrived in New Jersey with great fanfare, and he spent his first seven NHL seasons as a Devil before moving on to Montreal, the New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and Dallas Stars. Muller appeared in 1,349 regular-season games and posted 959 points in that span. He scored the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the Habs in 1993 and went on to a lengthy career as a coach and assistant coach. But he spent most of his time in New Jersey, and he’ll also have
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