The new rules are fine, but bolder ones are needed

	Most fans would rather watch a dramatic shootout like this than five minutes of OT. Jim McIsaac/Getty Images
	MAILBAG Submit a comment or question for Allan. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Given all the viable talking points available to hockey fans last week -- like, does Propecia really work that well, and how hard is it to get a prescription? -- you can be forgiven if you missed out on the momentous NHL general managers meeting.

Essentially, nothing happened.

Some of the game's most influential figures spent three days sequestered in suburban Las Vegas (oh, the irony!) to discuss league business. They didn't gamble on innovation. We had to listen extra close to hear mutterings about the possibilty of a few tweaks here and there for next season.

The lack of action shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, these are men who make Don Cherry appear liberal by comparison. But that doesn't mean radical changes aren't worth considering for version 2.0 of the New NHL. In fact, they're required.

Seems to me that these G.M.s should recognize that the success the NHL is enjoying this season is a direct result of their willingness to act boldly last summer. And bold thinking should be the order of the day the next time these men gather, starting with a revamping of the shootout.

It's safe to say that the game-deciding man-on-man confrontation is the single most entertaining rule change since the forward pass. The drama of it revived the passion of fans who might otherwise have pouted the season away after the lockout, and it has captured the attention of couch lizards more inclined to bask in the familiar traditions of the ball sports.

The shootout is a smashing success. So let's mess with it.

Counterintuitive? Hardly. Apple hasn't stopped working on the iPod just because people are happy with it as it is. They continue to mess with it, making it better, faster, more exciting. That's how they stay ahead of the competition.

That's what leaders do.

So, how should the NHL improve their hot new toy?

First, eliminate the five-minute overtime stanza. The extra frame was a revolutionary concept when introduced in 1983, but hey, so was the Walkman once upon a time. Now that we have the shootout -- hockey's version of the iPod -- it's time to toss out the old toy and fully embrace the new one.

Need proof that this needs to happen sooner rather than later? Watch the reaction next time the home team scores the winner in OT. What used to be the trigger for a raucous celebration now breeds a more muted response. No one's sulking, exactly, when the good guys win, but listen to what fans are saying as they file out of the building: "I was hoping it was gonna go to the shootout."