The State Of The NHL-And How We Got Here

[Gallatin]

Kesler Mania has worn me out, and there is not much else being discussed about on the Board lately it seems - so a new Topic!

I am in my 40's, this is an opinion based upon being a hardcore fan and rec player since early 1980 - seeing the Miracle live sucked me into the NHL as a kid. I played a ton of Dek Hockey with and against Dejan & Madden back in the day, and yes they had a large influence on how I experience the game. Especially Dejan who was my goal scoring center that I used to set up with the fancy passes on tennis courts and Deks all over town.

Many of you have covered over and over here my three main points - but one. So onto my State Of The Hockey Address - and feel free to disagree and argue with me.

Goalies and goalie equipment have played a large role in bringing us the game we have now. Just watch the 87 Canada Cup on YouTube. Not only is that some of the greatest hockey ever played, but the Goalies were crap. Small, awkward even, with Heavy pads, and unathletic. It's amazing how far goaltending has come, and the advances in equipment has lightened their load, while making them bigger. The Butterfly helped too.

Coaching has come a long way. In the mid-late 70's Scotty Bowman brought the Trap, and Systematic Hockey to the NHL. Like most cutting-edge great-leaps-forward, it took a while for everyone else to catch on, even after 5 straight Cups. Jump 15 years ahead and it's easy to see the impact he had come the mid-90's.

The one thing I don't see mentioned here is IMO the biggest issue right now - the Owners lost the 94-95 players strike. It was their own damn fault - NHLPA would have agreed to a Cap, but the big market teams would not agree to the revenue sharing players needed in order to concede.

When they gave in to save the season, the owners knew they were ****ed. Hockey was going the way of MLB now, and the small market teams were screwed as they would soon no longer be able to afford high end offensive talent, at least not until a Cap could be negotiated in the future.

A concession was agreed to among the clubs. A way needed to be found to slow down scoring - and they thought - salaries. Thus was born clutch-&-grab hockey. A temporary solution to the problem, that ended up becoming The long-term issue.

The Owners managed to mostly get it out of the game for some years after the Cap went into place. But with the pressures from the Old Guard's desire to let-them-play in the playoffs, and the need for small market teams to be able to compete with the richer clubs, and sell tickets, it crept back in.

Then the Cuncussion Issue hit. The game was getting too fast and dangerous some thought. What better way to put a bandaid on it, than to slow the game back down. Thus was born the new modern NHL of the last few years. Heavily coached systematic hockey with giant athletic goalies covered in bulky body armor. And an ever increasing amount of clutching and grabbing to slow down the game and make it "safer" for the players, or at least the Owners pocketbooks when the inevitable lawsuits came.

It's really ashame what our game has turned into recently. While no longer a fan of run & gun 80's hockey, we should not be headed under the 5 goals per game mark. It's just not as much fun as a 4-3 game IMO, and new fans will not flock to it. They want offense.

So right now I see a Penguins management team that is stuck in 2009. We were the New Way, the hockey system that was going to replace the old game with speed and skill.

But the game has changed once again, and is becoming ever more every day once again - a clutch & grab sport.

But I don't see the Penguins changing with it. It's disturbing to say the least.

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[#66]

So I guess you remember games on USA Network and SportsChannel America too.

One thing that never gets mentioned is video and TV. It was so hard to watch games back in the 80's because there was almost no national coverage. I remember sitting through 20 mins of NCAA scores on the CNN ticker just to get a Pens update. Even before that I would have to follow the Pens through box scores in the paper.

My point is that now any coach can basically sit and watch a game to scout the team he's playing against. Most of these coaches can pick a team apart after 1 period so that pre game prep is so easy for teams now.

Another thing is the 4 line game. I'm really hoping that the NHL expands again... and that it offsets the number of players per team being lowered. Skaters can move up and down the ice all night and then ride a bike for 5 miles after the game. There is no sense in a 4 line team. It takes time away from the stars playing and the foot movers that can only run on their skates takes away from a more skilled game because they can just blindly puck chase to death.

One thing that I really hate about todays NHL is that its become more about players running plays than a players creativity. There's a lot of funnel hockey in the NHL right now and its just not a good thing. I almost want to applaud the Pens because they play a lot of freelance hockey... but at the same time winning IS everything and they need to get with the times.

 

[Gallatin]

So I guess you remember games on USA Network and SportsChannel America too.

One thing that never gets mentioned is video and TV. It was so hard to watch games back in the 80's because there was almost no national coverage. I remember sitting through 20 mins of NCAA scores on the CNN ticker just to get a Pens update. Even before that I would have to follow the Pens through box scores in the paper.

My point is that now any coach can basically sit and watch a game to scout the team he's playing against. Most of these coaches can pick a team apart after 1 period so that pre game prep is so easy for teams now.

Another thing is the 4 line game. I'm really hoping that the NHL expands again... and that it offsets the number of players per team being lowered. Skaters can move up and down the ice all night and then ride a bike for 5 miles after the game. There is no sense in a 4 line team. It takes time away from the stars playing and the foot movers that can only run on their skates takes away from a more skilled game because they can just blindly puck chase to death.

One thing that I really hate about todays NHL is that its become more about players running plays than a players creativity. There's a lot of funnel hockey in the NHL right now and its just not a good thing. I almost want to applaud the Pens because they play a lot of freelance hockey... but at the same time winning IS everything and they need to get with the times.

You make a great point about Video and TV as a huge asset for coaches that was not common back in the day. It's mos def one of the keys to the evolution of coaching.

I too miss the creativity that was once the foundation of the game, but you can't win Cups anymore playing that style, and I would rather win more than anything else.

.

 

[sf expat71]

As much as I enjoy an organic fight, I am glad to see that the enforcing stiffs contingent is slowly being displaced by actual hockey players that can also throw down. The less McIntyres and Scotts in the league, the better, imo.
I agree fully to the point about the league officiating "letting them play" in the playoffs, though, and I think it is a bit of a farce, much like the shootout. A set of rules should be selected and enforced consistently. If something is not a penalty in the playoffs, that means no infraction was committed and shouldn't be a penalty during the regular season either. Although if they ever bring the shootouts into playoff hockey, I will probably find another league to follow...

 

[Gallatin]

As much as I enjoy an organic fight, I am glad to see that the enforcing stiffs contingent is slowly being displaced by actual hockey players that can also throw down. The less McIntyres and Scotts in the league, the better, imo.
I agree fully to the point about the league officiating "letting them play" in the playoffs, though, and I think it is a bit of a farce, much like the shootout. A set of rules should be selected and enforced consistently. If something is not a penalty in the playoffs, that means no infraction was committed and shouldn't be a penalty during the regular season either. Although if they ever bring the shootouts into playoff hockey, I will probably find another league to follow...

Agree with all your points, especially fighting. I could take it or leave it, but hate the concept of the Enforcer - a player who can't play except with his fists.

 

[sf expat71]

Agree with all your points, especially fighting. I could take it or leave it, but hate the concept of the Enforcer - a player who can't play except with his fists.

Unfortunately, a lot of people (obviously not myself) get into hockey for the fights, and it takes a while for them to be able to follow the puck, let alone enjoy the speed and skill aspect of the game. But I think there is finally enough momentum to move beyond oafs with stone hands on skates taking up roster spots.

 

[#66]

As much as I enjoy an organic fight, I am glad to see that the enforcing stiffs contingent is slowly being displaced by actual hockey players that can also throw down. The less McIntyres and Scotts in the league, the better, imo.
I agree fully to the point about the league officiating "letting them play" in the playoffs, though, and I think it is a bit of a farce, much like the shootout. A set of rules should be selected and enforced consistently. If something is not a penalty in the playoffs, that means no infraction was committed and shouldn't be a penalty during the regular season either. Although if they ever bring the shootouts into playoff hockey, I will probably find another league to follow...

I liked the fights, even the goons. The thing I hated was that's all some fans saw.

Another thing I miss is how every rink around the league seemed different. BOS had a smaller rink, lots of give on the glass in Pittsburgh, boards as hard as rocks in MTL, MSG being so dark...

 

[Goalie_Bob]

I liked the fights, even the goons. The thing I hated was that's all some fans saw.

Another thing I miss is how every rink around the league seemed different. BOS had a smaller rink, lots of give on the glass in Pittsburgh, boards as hard as rocks in MTL, MSG being so dark...

The odd corners in the Aud, the giant QE II painting in Winnipeg, Le Collisee de Quebec

 

[Coastal Kev]

I'm about the same age as the OP and I find myself very rarely watching games anymore. I actually follow the Pens more through these boards because I find them more entertaining than the games. Too much team D, Too big Goalies with Bigger equipment and not enough skill. There should be only 3 lines allowed, the NHL should outlaw all of the free substitutions. Slow the game down, bring back the skill. The NHL has too many Jim Mcgeoughs nowadays. I don't hold out much hope though for the NHL fixing their game.

 

[Gallatin]

I'm about the same age as the OP and I find myself very rarely watching games anymore. I actually follow the Pens more through these boards because I find them more entertaining than the games. Too much team D, Too big Goalies with Bigger equipment and not enough skill. There should be only 3 lines allowed, the NHL should outlaw all of the free substitutions. Slow the game down, bring back the skill. The NHL has too many Jim Mcgeoughs nowadays. I don't hold out much hope though for the NHL fixing their game.

I believe one of the biggest problems in the game right now is that they slowed it down with more clutching & grabbing to put a bandaid on the concussion epidemic. A faster game favors the Crosby's & Malkin's of the world.

 

[Sivek]

One thing that I dislike that's happened over the last handful of years is that there is zero onus on the player for protecting themselves on the ice. A guy admires his pass in the middle of the ice and gets blown up and it's the defender's fault. You'll see guys with the puck on their stick, back toward the ice and about 2 feet away from the boards and are just putting themselves in position to get blasted and apparently I'm supposed to be outraged when their guy pushes them in the small of the back and they go head-first into the boards? This has lead to a huge increase of fights in "response" to clean hits. I just hate it. I can't imagine that someone who has played the game all their lives doesn't instinctively known how to protect themselves better on the ice.

Not to go on a tangent, but it feels like a cultural thing that's way beyond sports of no accountability for anyone's actions. I'll just stop there because continuing will make me feel like an old fogey and not I'm quite there yet.