It looks like it's "Game On" for the NHL again, with the league and players union reaching an agreement in principle Wednesday. But the NHL that hopes to return to the ice in October will be far different from the league that preceded it for 88 years.

Look for cheaper seats and more high-flying offense to replace the trapping, clutch-and-grab defensive style popularized by teams the past decade.

But to get back on its feet, the NHL will have to solve its TV problem. The league has lost most of its national TV presence, with networks now refusing to pay multimillion-dollar rights fees to carry its games.

ESPN dropped the league this year after 12 seasons. The network is only interested in a new deal "that would have us both equally sharing any risk," according to spokesman Mike Soltys. NBC, meanwhile, has a limited two-year deal that depends on revenue sharing rather than rights fees. Starting in January, NBC will air seven regular-season games, six Stanley Cup playoff games and Games 3-7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

But executives at Spike TV told USA TODAY they've met with the NHL several times and are interested. "We are glad to hear the labor situation is resolved and we look forward to speaking with the NHL in the near future," says David Schwarz, spokesman for Viacom's cable network aimed at 18- to 34-year-old men.

Major League Baseball used the home run ball to bounce back from its 1994 strike. The NHL could pull off a similar trick, predicts Dean Bonham, CEO of The Bonham Group sports consultancy who has consulted with the league on several projects.

"I think the core fans will come back in large numbers," he says. "But first they need to communicate with the fans. It all begins and ends with the fans."

Proposed rule changes should "open up a game" that's lost much of its speed and excitement, says Barry Melrose, the former Los Angeles Kings coach turned hockey analyst for ESPN. "The NHL has forgotten we're in the entertainment business. The game has gotten too slow, too defensive-minded. If a player comes down the wall and hits a 100 mile-per-hour slap shot, he should score. But I haven't seen that in five years."

But there are some traditions Melrose doesn't want changed, such as eliminating fighting. "People love three things: goal-scoring, hitting and fighting," he says. "I notice the people who claim they hate fighting never leave when a scrap starts."

Among changes underway or on the table, according to NHL players, executives and announcers:

•Lower ticket prices. Many of the league's 30 teams will likely cut ticket prices. Within hours of the agreement, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced they were slashing ticket prices from 6% to 45% for the 2005-06 season. The league wants to "make sure our fans are getting maximum entertainment value for what they're spending," says Ed Horne, president of NHL Enterprises.

•More scoring. One intriguing possible rule change is eliminating the red line to allow longer, breakout passes. "If you're able to spread the ice out a little bit and make the defensemen back off to cover the guys behind them, it would give forwards a little more room to skate through the neutral zone," says Washington Capitals center Jeff Halpern, who played in no-red-line games in Switzerland during the lockout.

•Shootouts. The penalty shot is one of the sports' most dramatic moments. Melrose hears the league wants to use shootouts — in which several snipers go mano a mano with the opposing goalie — to settle ties.

"Can you imagine Peter Forsberg in a shootout? It would be awesome," Melrose says. "No one would leave the building. It would only take five minutes. And the fans would love it."

•High-definition TV. The NHL will make a strong push to telecast as many games as possible on high-definition TV, according to NHL consultant Bonham. The league is also looking at mikes on players and in-game interviews with coaches to bring fans closer to the action. "High-definition TV benefits hockey more than any other sport, bar none," Bonham says.

•More spending by sponsors. The league hopes the agreement will spur the NHL's 18 corporate sponsors to get back to spending nearly $400 million a year to promote their products and the league, Horne says. The good news? Not a single sponsor such as Anheuser-Busch or Coca-Cola has headed for the exits.

"We're a growth stock. We firmly believe the best is yet to come," Horne says.