Olympics: Memo to the NHL -- This is ice hockey

Last weekend I sat down and watched the U.S. Olympic hockey team face Russia in round-robin action. The game ended in 2-2 tie with no overtime shootout to settle the contest and it didn't even matter. That was some of the best hockey I've seen -- ever.

In the normal two-hours and forty-five minute to three-hour NHL contests, if a center rockets a pass down the ice to a charging forward, the whistle will sound and the ref will call a "two-line" pass. Alas, that pesky redline.

In an Olympic game, Hail Mary passes shred a team's defense as a center can hurl the puck all the way down the ice. No redlines exist to put the brakes on the offense.

In the NHL, to gain momentum for a sluggish team, usually an inadequate skilled player -- known around the league as a goon -- will drop the gloves and start to pummel one of the other team's players. More likely than not, a big ol' brawl will ensue.

In the Olympics, if you drop the gloves, you better pick up your bags and head to the nearest exit as you are out of there.

During a standard NHL game, the ref may frown on an over-aggressive forward and wait for players to swap for a face-off.

In the Olympics, if you aren't set for a face-off -- tough luck. The puck is going to be dropped anyway.

The NHL still has many teams that implement a tedious trap defense that slow the pace of a game and upset the rhythm of a team's offense.

The Olympic contests have wider rinks and no red lines where virtually every player can become an offensive catalyst for a team.

You smell that? That's hockey!

Don't get all excited you old-time, NHL traditionalists. I know the game is great for having many big checks, flying fists, and dekes and dunks. However, it's time to face facts -- your sport is in fourth place...comfortably. Hockey is way behind football, baseball, and basketball in popularity and revenue. If I were Gary Bettman and the rest of the mugs in the NHL office, I'd take note of the big numbers the Olympic hockey contests are racking up.

Yes I realize that these players are all the best players in the world. How often do you find Mike Modano centered between John LeClair and Brett Hull? Still, the rules to this brand of hockey are unrelenting, fast-paced and can transform a three-hour hockey game into a two-hour roller coaster ride.

I generally dig fighting in hockey, but c'mon -- admit it. You haven't seen a major fisticuffs fracas in any of these Olympic games and you haven't even cared.

I do like hockey and I do sympathize with the NHL traditionalists. However, in today's society, the NHL is way back on the popularity scale and something needs to be done to stoke the interest. It's time for a change. Here's just hoping the NHL front-office is taking notes.