1- If you guys haven't noticed the shifts in our style of play since Hitch took over then you aren't paying attention.
Hitch's 1st year we were all about the forecheck and hard work. We weren't endlessly cycling the puck, we were "funneling the puck towards the net", getting bodies in the crease and hoping for bounces.
Every year we have trended more towards puck possession and conserving energy. It culminated in this year where our players weren't even trying to get the puck on goal at times and practically refused to go to the front of the net.
2- "Reckless" doesn't just mean throwing the body around. I know that's the image everybody gets, but it doesn't stop there. It also means taking hits to make a play. It also means blindly firing the puck on goal instead of resetting the cycle. It also means trying to split the D with puck skills. It also means trusting players to win 1 on 1 battles along the boards while others start the breakout. It also means pinching in on D at the risk of an odd-man break the other way. It also means making high risks outlet passes.
This team has progressively gotten away from a lot of those things under Hitch.
There are a ton of ways this team can be more "reckless" without even changing players. Put a foot in Oshie's butt and tell him to start hitting people again. Drop a bit of the cycling and start funneling pucks again. Have players step up to 1 on 1 challenges instead of waiting for support before engaging.
Last year Hitch catered to the players and let them play a more "skill" game. The result was a team that wanted to play catch with the puck instead of making high risk plays. When a player did make a high risk play, it stood out so much that it changed our view of the player. Tarasenko broke the Rag's D and was an instant superstar overnight. Lehtera feathered some passes and people started to think he could be a top line center. Lindbohm and Bortuzzo leveled some guys at the blueline and they became better options than Jax, Gunnar and Michalek. Shattenkirk timed some pinches right and became an Elite offensive D man. Schwartz won some board battles and became a future star/Captain in the making.
There are ways to get more players to play like that and not completely lose defensive focus. If there is any coach who can design that kind of balanced system, it's Hitch. There isn't a better tactical coach in the League. Getting the buy in is on the players and their leadership group.