Wayne Gretzky, Bill Burr talk NHL vs. NFL with Bill Simmons (Video)

On HBO’s “Any Given Wednesday” this week, Bill Simmons sat down with Wayne Gretzky and comedian Bill Burr, a hockey fanatic, to discuss many things puck.

It’s always interesting to see how others approach the NHL, like watching Gretzky defend Gary Bettman to Simmons or watching all three debate the merits of Bobby Orr as a player.

But the most interesting discussion is here, with Burr and Gretzky discussing how to “fix” the NHL, with regard to growing the game in the U.S.

[ED NOTE: A FEW NSFW WORDS]

From Burr:

“My whole time watching hockey, from 1981 on, they’ve always had this conversation: ‘How do you fix the game? How do you take it to another level?’ Well, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. I don’t think it’s a B-plus because it’s making any less money. That’s a whole marketing thing. ‘We’re only multi-multi-millionaires, how can we become billionaires?’ Why can’t you just be happy being millionaires?

“And they’re always trying to get the fighting out of the game. I loved that. I always see guys in other leagues saying this guy should have the [crap] kicked out of him. And in hockey it does. It’s justified.

“If you want to build a sport, you’re going to do what the NFL does. You’re going to wear pink or a whole month and have Katy Perry sing at halftime. When you try to become super popular, it goes off the rails.”

To which Gretzky said, to laughter:

“I can’t imagine the Bruins or the Flyers wearing pink.”

Ooof.

OK, what about purple?

That rough comparison aside, Burr’s got a point when he says “when you try to become super popular, it goes off the rails.”

There’s no question that the NHL has, over the years, sacrificed parts of its identity – its brutality, its bloodshed, its Canadianism, its dynasties – for various reasons. Player safety is the driving force behind the first two factors, driven by bad press and lingering litigation.

I don’t know if you can say that the NHL has gone “off the rails” when it’s making the money it’s making or when the bandwagons are as full as they are, but it’s come at the cost of an identity crisis for the League. It wants to be fast and offensive, but the goalies and the systems are (usually) too good. It wants to be physical, but not too physical. It wants to be Canada’s lifeblood while expanding to Las Vegas.

Interesting discussion. Here’s more from the trio, including where you sit at a hockey game:

—

Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS