The whole U.S. love affair with the outdoor Hockey Classic New Yrs day in Buffalo got me to thinking, what would I do if I could succeed Gerry Bettman and be King of the NHL

Tops on the list would  be I would stop meddling behind the scenes to ensure hockey franchises stay in markets where they clearly don't work or don't belong.  (Nashville comes to mind here).  Canadian bids would have equal opportunity for franchise shifts.  No expansion for the forseeable future....if anything I would consider league contraction...get it down to 24 teams would mean fewer "floaters" in the NHL.

I would make the annual All-Star Game an outdoor event, to liven up what's become a ho-hum event.

I would abolish the shootout.  This is tantamount to breaking a baseball tie with a Homer derby...it's so WRONG.  In its place I would look to the soccer concept of awarding 3 pts for a win and 1 pt for a tie.  Teams would suddenly get very hungry for a win if 3 pts were on the line every night.  Any game finishing in a tie after regulation would go to 4 on 4 hockey for 5 mins, then 3 on 3 hockey for another 5 mins.  If nobody scores after the 10 minute overtime frame, each team goes home with 1 pt only.

I would get in direct dialogue with the Spengler Cup people and send our Stanley Cup Championship team to their tourney each Christmas.  Either that or create some sort of Champions league, much like they have in Euro Soccer.

I would also lump all six Canadian teams into a single division, with the introduction of weekend series to reduce travel costs (ie: Montreal comes to Vancouver to play Friday and Saturday, or Friday, Saturday off, play Sunday).

I could go on all night here, but let's see what kind of ideas you have...

the pre-season for Canadian teams would be a tournament hosted by a different (non NHL) Canadian City.  Split it into two divisions (red = Sens, Flames, Habs & blue = Leafs, Oil, Nucks).  The teams battle out for top in the nation to begin the season and get everyone redhot for the 82 regular games.

Outdoor classic becomes an annual January first tradition.

and I agree about letting teams move around... if some billionaire wants to put a club in Hamilton, and Nashville wants to sell... all the power to them.

CRS...I wish you were the King, I fully agree with everything you said, especially that American gimmick, otherwise known as the shootout.

If it is an American gimmick, why have the Major Junior leagues adopted it?  

I'm for the outdoor classic as a Jan 1 tradition.

As for the outdoor classic, the idea should be to keep these as very special events, so to keep them special, why not hold them once every few years, as is the developing trend?

Holding an event such as this in an Olympic year really wouldn't make that much sense, as you're competing for attention against the world's most powerful media machine.  So maybe if one was held next season, and then one in 2010-11.

Certainly one to celebrate the Habs' 100th anniversary would be a nice treat.

As for the shootouts...I think it is necessary to decide a winner one way or another from each game.  It might not be ideal, but it's the best option there to enable this to happen.