The National Hockey League and Canadian Football League are in the process of implementing substantial rule changes.
In the NHL, fewer games are likely to be decided in the shootout with the league likely headed for some form of 3-on-3 overtime along with the possibility of a coach’s challenge for controversial calls.
For Canada’s football fans, there are proposals to how pass interference is called, defending against punt returns and converts from the 32-yard line.
Rule changes are nothing new across the board, as they are done to improve the way the game is played and provide a more entertaining game.
How these new proposed rules stack up against the true historic game-changers remain to be seen.
1903: The Burnside Rules (CFL)
Around the same time, the forward pass transformed the game south of the border. The rule was not adopted in its current form - allowing a forward pass to be completed anywhere behind the line of scrimmage - in the NFL until 1933, four years after its inception in the Canadian game. That same decade, a final value for field goals was established, setting their worth at three points. Previously, a successful kick had been worth as much as five points (while touchdowns had once been worth as little as four).
1920: The Live Ball era (MLB)
Commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis introduced different policies on how balls were made and maintained. More balls were used over the course of any given game and the fresher, newer balls flew further, helping propel offence on an uptick. What followed was a new era of offence led by greats like Babe Ruth, Jimmie Foxx, Lou Gehrig and Mel Ott.
1929-30: The Forward Pass (NHL):
Forward passing was one of several innovations in the late 1920s that shaped the modern game. In 1927-28 games were standardized to three 20-minute periods with 10-minute intermissions and teams swapping ends after each frame. The next season overtime was introduced to help decide tie games as well as penalties being introduced for high-sticking and delay of game.
1954-55: The Shot Clock (NBA):
Owners lobbied for more excitement and the 24-second clock was instituted. The days of hanging around and waiting to get fouled went by the wayside. And in the midst of March Madness, let's remember that the NCAA instituted a 45-second clock in 1985-86 and later reduced it to 35 in 1993-94. Critics - including U.S. President Barack Obama - have expressed a desire to see that number shrink further.
1956-57: Two Minutes or Less on Minor Penalties (NHL)
Thanks in large part to a top shelf unit that featured Hall-of-Famers Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau, Bert Olmstead, Doug Harvey and Tom Johnson, Montreal scored 25 power play goals in the first 22 games of the 1955-56 season, highlighted by Le Gros Bill's 44-second hat trick over the course of a Bruins minor. As such, NHL Rule 26(c) is colloquially referred to as the Montreal Canadiens rule.
1973: The Designated Hitter (MLB)
Led by eccentric Oakland owner Charlie Finley, the American League adopted the designated hitter to bring more excitement. While the rule remains out of the National League, it's made World Series heroes out of David Ortiz, Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield and Hideki Matsui and a Hall of Fame career for Frank Thomas.
1975: The 2-Point Conversion (CFL)
A college rule since the 1950s and implemented by the former American Football League, the NFL left it out of their game when it absorbed the AFL for the 1970 season.
The result was an exciting late-game option for trailing teams to claw through deficits and set up dramatic, one-off game-deciding plays.
1979-80: The 3-point Shot (NBA)
The three-ball quickly became a pivotal and dramatic element of the game, especially late in contests where possessions are at a premium and a weapon of some of the NBA’s elite talents.
And the NBA may have seen that development coming, as 'the three' was adopted just in time for high-profile rookies Larry Bird and Magic Johnson to begin their pro careers.
1999: The Coach’s Challenge (NFL)
The idea was implemented in Major League Baseball last season, leading to (often infuriating) stall tactics by managers waiting for their video crews to have a nice long look at what they were considering challenging. And it's also being considered by the NHL.
Baseball has learned their lesson on the delay of game, with promised 'pace of game' rules this season which include forcing managers to challenge from the dugout.
2005-06: The Post-Lockout Era (NHL)
So when the lockout was officially lifted, the changes to the NHL's rule book were almost as dramatic to those in the new collective bargaining agreement:
The red line was removed to legalize the two-line pass and the blue lines were moved up, enlarging the offensive zones. Goaltenders were limited in their equipment size and movement behind the net (thanks to the trapezoid). Teams were no longer allowed line-changes after an icing call. New penalties for delay of game were instituted, as were stiffer penalties for instigating fights and the refs were mandated to make more clutch-and-grab calls.
And of course, they added the shootout.
While the league is now looking at ways to minimize the shootout, the rest of the rule changes have by in large returned the league to a more offensive-minded, skill-based product. Players like Johnny Gaudreau are no longer considered 'too small' and the league’s elite post-lockout talents like Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin have room to dominate with their world class skill.