For a league that struggles to market to the mythical casual fans without upsetting the die-hard fans, the Winter Classic could not have been more perfect for the NHL.

A cold, blustery day with light to moderate snow in Buffalo provided the perfect backdrop for Pittsburgh's entertaining 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres, but the game was about far more than the score.

A 2.6 rating/5.0 share on NBC impressed league and network execs, but the ratings might be on the low side. It has long been theorized sports ratings are lower than the real numbers, as the ratings tend to ignore those who watch the game in groups or at bars -- not to mention, the average 30-year-old, beer-drinking sports fan is not exactly the most likely person to fill out a survey on their viewing habits.

No matter how you cut it, most die-hard NHL fans tuned in for at least part of the game, while thousands of new fans stumbled on the game and likely approved of what they saw.

There has been talk of doing an outdoor game every year on Jan. 1, and that is unquestionably a great idea. Rotate it from city to city, and the league will reap the benefits.

However, the idea needs to be planted for a second outdoor game each year, this one coming a little later in January.

While Versus has done a great job of their NHL coverage and will likely continue to do so, it appears likely ESPN will re-enter the fray at some point. Versus is said to be very open to sharing the contract with ESPN, with the thought being the cross-promotion will help both the NHL and the young network.

As most of you under the age of 30 are likely aware, the annual Winter X Games are coming up in Aspen, Colorado, in a few days. Once dismissed by many as an ESPN creation, the Winter X Games have developed a sound following, particularly among the hard-to-reach 18-to-35 demographic.

Names like Shaun White, Gretchen Bleiler, and Blair Morgan are household names in that demographic -- every bit as much as or more so than Sidney Crosby, Ryan Miller, and Evgeni Malkin. Consider every sport is trying to find a way to reach the younger generation, where sports television ratings have dropped faster and more dramatic than any other demographic.

An annual outdoor NHL game tied in with the Winter X Games seems like an absolute natural. The events usually run Thursday through Sunday, leaving the NHL with a few options.

The first option would be to hold the game as a Winter X Games kickoff on Wednesday night, an event that would surely draw many of the competitors. A second option is to hold the game Sunday night as a type of closing ceremony -- again, sure to draw many of the competitors.

If the league wants to strike when the maximum number of tourists are in town, it could be arranged to hold the game Friday night or sometime Saturday afternoon or evening. The drawback would be less sightings of competitors and music acts, yet the league would maintain a tie-in with the event.

The Winter X Games are held every year in Aspen, Colorado, and there is no 75,000-seat football stadium in the town. Yet the league has discussed playing an outdoor game in a dramatic natural setting -- and what is more dramatic for hockey than the Rocky Mountains?

A temporary outdoor arena could be built -- think Mystery, Alaska. Depending on the location and logistics, it could be possible to make the structure more permanent and leave it standing year-round, with various winter sports utilizing the structure during the colder months.

If this does not work out, the idea of having 15,000-20,000 temporary seats is certainly not unprecedented. The seats could be stored the rest of the year, while they would be brought out once a year for the outdoor game -- again, think of the look of the rink in Mystery, Alaska, the movie that started the outdoor craze.

With an elevation of roughly 8,000 feet, Aspen would present some logistical issues, but nothing that could not be overcome. Denver is 5,280 feet above sea level, and much of the suburbs are closer to 6,000 feet. Colorado Springs has a major arena more than 6,000 feet above sea level. When that is taken into consideration, an additional 2,000 feet seems like a minor issue.

And while the city is located in the mountains, winter highs routinely reach the 40s. For an evening game, the temperature would likely be in the teens or 20s -- a little cooler than ideal, but significantly warmer than the successful Heritage Classic in Edmonton.

The game would be able to piggyback off the intense promotion of the Winter X Games, and many of the viewers -- and attendees -- would be in the much-targeted, 18-to-35 non-traditional hockey fan demographic.

The game itself might not be a moneymaker when the costs are weighed against the mid-sized arena, but as with the Winter Classic, this is about the bigger picture. If the NHL can draw new fans from the event, it becomes a far cheaper and more effective form of advertising than many of the current concepts.

Remember all the talk of the new NHL coming out of the lockout a little more than two years ago? The new rules and enforcements of existing rules were supposed to change the game for the better, creating more offense and eliminating strict defensive systems.

For a year, they accomplished their goal.

Does that ever seem like a long time ago now.

In the third season with the new rules and enforcement standards, it is becoming clear the desired effects - which were the initial effects - are no longer around. The wide-open hockey of the 2005-06 season has become replaced by... you guessed it, strict defensive systems.

When the league increased enforcement of interference coming out of the lockout, the thought was the elimination of clutch-and-grab hockey would lead to a more wide-open game. For about a year, that worked very well. Games were wide-open, physical, end-to-end, and the fans responded in a great manner, considering the lost 2004-05 season.

In the playoffs that year, the Edmonton Oilers reintroduced the trap, or at least a variation of the much-maligned system. Yet the eighth place Oilers fell to Carolina in the Stanley Cup Finals, and it seemed wide-open hockey was the new norm.

Over the next year and half, coaches figured out the lack of clutch and grab did not mean teams could not play a tight defensive system. In fact, what it really meant was teams had to play even more conservatively in order to be defensive-oriented, as players could no longer hook and hold if they were beaten by an opposing player.

The result has been less than positive. While a traditional New Jersey or Minnesota-style trap features puck pursuit between the bluelines, many of the new systems have the sole goal of forcing the opponents to play a dump-and-chase style.

Instead of talking about the trap, the talk is about defensive postures, as if it were a basketball game. The term 1-2-2 refers to a system with one forechecker, two forwards by the near blueline, and the two defensemen by the far blueline.

As dull as that system can be, especially if the forechecker is passive and retreats quickly upon a breakout, it is falling by the wayside in favor of the even more conservative 1-4.

In a 1-4, there is a lone forechecker, and the other four players set up on the defensive side of the red line. More times than not, they create a wall at the blueline, forcing the offensive team to chip the puck into the offensive zone. Badly outnumbered, the offensive team rarely regains possession.

While the term 0-5 has not been used as of yet, that could change in the future. Some teams retreat entirely when they have the lead, posting four players between the bluelines with the fifth almost posing as a forechecker. The fifth man usually retreats to the neutral zone once it appears the breakout is about to begin.

Exciting stuff, isn't it?

Anyone who goes back a generation or so remembers the old system employed by virtually every team. A two-man forecheck - the first man takes the man, the second man takes the puck. Third man stays high. Defensemen stay back.

Oh, for those days again.

It is not that the NHL is devoid of excitement these days. Yet the phrase "new NHL" has more or less disappeared. The reality is, today's NHL may be less exciting than the much-maligned days before the lockout.

Scoring is still low, shots are still low, and scoring chances are still low. The difference is, instead of the clutch and grab at least creating some interesting one-on-one battles, too many coaches instruct their players to take such a conservative defensive posture that they cannot be found out of position.

For a league that is trying to increase its fan base in much of the United States, this is not a good thing. The Dallas Stars have been one of the league's most successful franchises on the ice for the past decade, yet empty seats about by the thousands in the American Airlines Center, an arena that was once a guaranteed sellout.

Despite their on-ice success, the Stars fired general manager Doug Armstrong early this season, replacing him with famed goal scorer Brett Hull. Many speculated the move had more to do with the Stars' style of play than anything else. While the team was winning, fans were quickly jumping ship from the often-dull Stars.

Thousands of empty seats appear most nights in previously packed Detroit and Colorado, and lesser markets have even more ticket availability. While the league continues to talk of attendance records, much of that comes from the Canadian markets, where a strong economy has helped lead the NHL's resurgence.

And as strong as the game is in Canada, it is not without threat. More than 20 percent of Canada is foreign-born, and many of those people view soccer as their dominant sport. The expansion Toronto FC in Major League Soccer sold out every game last season with more than 20,000 fans. TFC has a similar season ticket base and similar length waiting list as the Maple Leafs, indicating the soccer interest in Canada's largest city.

With MLS expansion a potential for Vancouver and Montreal, it is clear hockey is not the only game in town for Canadian cities, despite what the media often reports.

For now, the game is solid in Canada and in some United States markets. Yet at the same time, the league must put a good product on the ice to keep that interest at a high level.

The good news is, based on his comments on his NHL Home Ice XM 204 radio show, commissioner Gary Bettman seems to be aware of the problem. Unfortunately, the solution is not so obvious.

One possible solution is to limit the number of defensive players set up between the bluelines, but there are several issues. Allowances would have to be made for line changes, and the on-ice officials are already busy enough without watching for what essentially would be an illegal defense call.

Many solutions will be bandied about in the coming months, but this much is true - the NHL finds itself facing an issue nobody thought they would be two years ago.

Hockey fans that have not spent much time in Southern California are often surprised to find the undercurrent of hockey support in the region.

Sure, the media coverage is largely non-existent while many people on the street have never seen a game live. But dig deeper and you'll find a strong community of youth leagues, recreational leagues, and die-hard hockey fans.

For many, even more surprising is the discovery this hockey interest spreads north to the oil patches and agricultural fields of the Central Valley.

While Stockton and Fresno also boast successful ECHL franchises, Saturday night was my time to check out hockey in Bakersfield. The ECHL's Condors draw large crowds to the nine-year-old Rabobank Arena in downtown Bakersfield, and there is much to enjoy about the experience.

The arena seats roughly 8,500 fans, but on this night, a standing-room only crowd of 8,895 was on hand for the annual Teddy Bear Toss. A popular promotion with minor league and junior teams, fans are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal to the game and throw them on the ice after the home team scores their first goal of the game.

Condors fans definitely listened, throwing 7,056 stuffed animals onto the ice after the Condors tied the game early in the opening stanza. Team employees, volunteers, and players took about 15 minutes to clear the ice of the bears, as the rain of stuffed animals continued several minutes after the goal.

Naturally, not every night features the teddy bear toss, but the atmosphere in Bakersfield is decidedly fun and high-energy. The sightlines are surprisingly steep for a new arena - a definite positive. The upper level seats provide a particularly great view of the game, giving fans birds' eye views and providing no blind spots.

Combined with a relatively low roof, the steep sightlines contribute to a loud building. When the Condors score, it sounds as loud as any NHL arena. Early on this night, that happened frequently.

Bakersfield scored five goals in a little over five minutes to take a 5-1 first period lead, but things fell apart for the home squad from there as the visiting Phoenix Roadrunners pulled out an improbable 7-5 comeback win.

Even when the Condors are not scoring goals, the crowd gets involved with many in-game yells, providing a great home ice advantage. A roving cheerleader, inspired by the likes of Krazy George, does a great job of firing up the home crowd while passing out Condor t-shirts.

At first glance, the relatively narrow concourse seems like it would be insufficient for a full house, as does the limited number of restrooms. However, the concourse was not uncomfortably crowded between periods, and the restroom lines moved at a reasonable pace. Three souvenir stands provided an impressive range of merchandise, including several sweatshirts, t-shirts, jerseys, hats, and pucks.

In-game music is played at tolerable levels, as typical hard rock music is mixed with a few country songs, a nod towards Bakersfield's country music history. Unfortunately, the use of spotlights is not nearly as effective.

Fortunately, the arena uses only four spotlights, so the sense of overkill at the Honda Center is not present in Bakersfield. However, the Condors use the spotlights at every whistle, which gets old by the midway point of the opening period.

Rabobank Arena's concourse features a Kern County Sports Hall of Fame, honoring dozens of Kern County residents who have been successful in the sports world. Several display cases line parts of the concourse and are certainly worthy of checking out.

Concessions feature normal arena fare, with prices running a bit lower than most NHL arenas. Lines were moderate to long much of the night, but they seemed to move at a reasonable pace.

The team does a great job of programs and game notes. The full program is $3, while rosters and game stats are available for $1. Full stats for both teams and the league as a whole are included, quickly bringing the casual fan up to speed.

Media coverage of the team is also top-notch, as the Bakersfield Cailfornian newspaper treats the team as a major professional team. Several games are televised, while the radio broadcast even includes a post-game call-in show.

With a population of roughly 350,000, Bakersfield is an ideal size for an ECHL team. What might surprise people is how well a California city of that size adopts hockey, but as with so many other things, the hockey scene in California is full of surprises.

Hockey fans like to think tradition is important in our sport. While other sports such as basketball and football cater to the flavor of the day, hockey is built on decades of tradition.

We have our own terminologies, many of which have come under assault in recent years. The traditional hockey term of dressing rooms has been replaced by the unoriginal term locker rooms. Center ice has been replaced by the neutral zone. Two-on-ones and three-on-twos have been replaced by the generic term odd-man rushes. And perhaps worst of all, the boards are starting to become known as the wall, especially in non-traditional markets.

It is enough to make a hockey fan scream.

However, if a hockey fan screams and nobody can hear it over the too-loud arena music, does the scream really exist?

Over-the-top game presentation has long been a trademark of the National Basketball Association, and while critics have praised the league for their marketing, NBA ratings and interest are a fraction of what they were a decade ago.

Sadly, this type of game presentation is creeping into our game, and fans must voice their opinion to stop the spread.

Last weekend should have been one of the greatest moments in recent Chicago Blackhawks history. The team is playing well behind rookie sensations Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, and Sunday's game against Detroit launched a new era of home games being televised on local television.

Yet the big story came in the area of game presentation. Longtime organist Frank Pelico was largely absent from the weekend's games, his duties being limited to the national anthem and post-game proceedings.

Anyone over the age of 25 who grew up as a hockey fan associates the organ with Chicago hockey. While the pipe organ did not make its way from Chicago Stadium to the United Center, organ music stayed a big part of the Blackhawks. While other teams shunned organ music for recorded music, the Hawks stayed traditional.

Ironically, now that many teams are featuring more organ music than they have in recent years, Pelico finds himself watching games as a spectator. Hawks fans are understandably outraged, flooding message boards, blogs, and the front office with complaints.

Southern California's two NHL franchises demonstrate the radical differences between various arenas when it comes to game presentation. While the Los Angeles Kings take a traditional approach to game presentation, the Anaheim Ducks feature a nightclub atmosphere - something most people outgrow before they reach 30.

The Kings start with a great introduction on their 2400-inch ICE TV, also known as an on-ice projector. The accompanying music by Hans Zimmer and Linkin Park - played at reasonable volumes - provide the perfect accompaniment to the visuals.

Once the game starts, the game presentation stays top-notch. Organist Dieter Ruehle, who was the organist at the last two Olympics, leads the crowd in traditional yells such as "Go Kings Go." He does a great job of mixing classics like Kalinka or Hava Nagila with modern adaptations of bands such as U2 or Green Day. Ruehle maintains at least a 50/50 ratio of organ music to recorded music, and both are played at reasonable levels.

Thirty miles southeast at Honda Center, the assault on the senses is impossible to avoid. The introduction music is played way beyond the capabilities of the sound system, making the music painfully loud and virtually impossible to understand. While this is happening, a couple of dozen spotlights move in a fast, haphazard manner across the ice, creating a sense of motion sickness.

Sadly, the presentation gets no better once the game begins. While the music stays too loud and the organist adds too many Disneyland-esque drum rolls in most songs, the spotlights return far too frequently. When the spotlights are thankfully reduced, several migrane-inducing strobe lights are used in conjunction with the music at most whistles. The result is an atmosphere that resembles a WWE event or a teen-oriented nightclub, but certainly not a hockey game.

As someone who has spent most of his life in traditional hockey environments, there is no question which arena is more appealing. And the California market is more savvy than the Ducks seem to give it credit. Many, if not most, hockey fans in the region are transplants from traditional markets. If I had a dollar for every time one of these transplants told me they will not go to Ducks games because of the distracting game presentation, I might have enough money to buy the team and change the game presentation myself.

While no other NHL arena - certainly not the United Center - approaches the distraction level of the Honda Center, the loss of another hockey tradition in the sake of modernization would be a travesty.

Rocky Wirtz has done many things right since assuming leadership in Chicago. He would be wise to do one more thing right - bring back Pelico.