I'd prefer even the late 2000s, 2010 even. I'm not Mr. Bring back the 70s. The Wings/Pens rivalry, Philly/Pens, Blackhawks/Blues. Those were games you cleared your schedule for. Theres almost zero rivalry left and these matchups aren't worth watching 99% of the time. Instead we have a bunch of overpaid soft players afraid to touch anyone letting guys go up the ice like it's skate and shoot with your pals. Hard to argue with that man...
hockey now is not much different than it was in the early 2010's. you still need a balance of speed/skill and size/strength to win cups. the only major difference is the game is faster (and will keep getting faster). that is why guys like John Scott who cant skate fast are useless now. no amount of penalties are/were going to keep John Scott from beating the shit out of people. but you cant hit what you cant catch.
im not doubting the slap on the hands penalties are stupid and the consistency with the officiating is f***ing terrible this year, but the way the game is played now is just as much of an evolution of the game as it is refs not being able to keep the whistle out of their mouth.
a good example of this is Dylan McIlrath. dude could wreck people and rip shots, but he couldn't skate for shit. 10-15 years ago he would be a main stay on most rosters, but now he will probably spend the rest of his career in the AHL because the game is faster than what his feet are able to keep up with.
the rivalries you point out...the wings suck now and philly used to be alot better...same goes for hawks and blues. ill even admit rangers/islanders rivalry is more of just a staring match from long distances with binoculars, but 1 of or both teams have sucked one season or another over the last 10 years.
point is, its hard to keep an intense rivalry when 1 of the teams in the rivalry sucks, not because the game has gone soft.
do i miss people getting kronwalled? yes. is the overall entertainment on the ice better than it was when Matt Cooke was ending Marc Savard's career? probably.
