The lack of division games
Playing 32 cross conference games every season has killed rivalries and eliminated most excitement from the NHL. Only 4 out of 82 games against division opponents (4.8% of the season). Sometimes just 3 games!
Meanwhile, the NFL dedicates 2/17 games to divisional opponents (11.7%). That’s the equivalent of 9 NHL games per season.
Teams play 39% of their games against the other conference meaning they don’t play division/conference opponents enough for hatred to be present for game one of a series
What used to be there at the drop now takes to game 3 or 4 to develop…
Personally I think it's boring to play the same 7 teams 56 times a year. Especially with a playoff format where you play divisioinal opponents the first 2 series almost no matter what. It's just the same teams over and over and over and over.
Seems to be rivalries are an organic process and the league's mistake was trying to force teams into having them. There hasn't even been that many the last 20ish years. CHI vs VAN, PIT vs PHI, MTL vs BOS are the most notorious ones off the top of my head and I'm not sure what else has come close recently.
CHI vs VAN was heated because they were both 2 great, young, up and coming teams who stood in each other's way for a shot at a Cup 3 years in a row. There were also specific players and their personalities on both teams that fueled that rivalry to the point it was so compelling. McDrai's Oilers have played LA what, 3 times now? 3 times in a row even? There's nothing close to the level of hatred we've seen from Flyers and Penguins for example.
I think it has more to do with league and player culture than anything else. Rivalries are going to happen on their own, I don't think switching up the playoff format was a good idea at all and I definitely don't want to start playing the Utah Coyotes and Minnesota Wild 8 times each every season