Don't take this as disrespectful, but maybe it's a sign that the game has changed but how you view it hasn't?
Most teams have changed the way they defend the front of the net. A decade ago, the front of the net was a war zone. You needed cement in your boots and a steel spine to set and hold a screen or position yourself for a rebound. But at some point in the last 10 years coaches and goalie coaches got together and decided that it would be more effective for the D to front shots and take away passing lanes. That it was easier for goalies if they only had to deal with one guy standing still, rather than a chaotic battle between a D and a F.
You focus on our D and how nobody pushes guys out of the way. But it's the same at the other end. Jake DeBrusk routinely sets up in front of the other teams net, and he's not hard to knock off the puck. Taylor Hall can play the role of a net front presence on the PP because NOBODY tries to move him. They just let him set up.
That's not to say that there are no net front battles. Shots get through and there are bad rebounds or deflections that go awry and then you need to either clear the puck or tie up sticks/bodies. But IMO, defenses spend more time It will never be completely gone, but IMO, teams spend most of their defensive engird on trying to prevent pucks from getting inside. That's why guys who are not considered classically good defenders post good stats, because they read the play well and defuse those opportunities, they pick off that extra pass to the middle, they get a stick on a shot, or simply clear the rebound rather than tie up the man.
That’s some heady company…. I hope Don can pull it off!!
