Today's game - speed & youth. But who deserves the credit?

[ColePens]

Wait. Toronto is based around speed? Uh... well they’ve never seemed above average speed wise when I’ve watched them the past couple years. I can’t honestly remember a game I watched where their team as a whole seemed notably faster than the other side

Just seems a bit odd that that’s supposed to be part of their identity with that

Are you sure you are watching? I think the playoff series have been about as plain as day and that has the most eyes on it. I would put them in the skilled category, too, but those playoff series they had were dead giveaways.

 

[Echo Roku]

Are you sure you are watching? I think the playoff series have been about as plain as day and that has the most eyes on it. I would put them in the skilled category, too, but those playoff series they had were dead giveaways.

Didn’t really watch them in the playoffs. It’s mainly just been on a whim occasionally

But whenever I have seen them over the past couple years, they’ve seen quite average in comparison to those they play.

Their recent game against the Habs stand out. They even really looked slow on that one.

 

[JaegerDice]

The only Chicago teams that were really crazy fast were in 2013 and 2014. The 2010 team could go, but they weren't the fastest team in the world. The 2015 team was a team that actually tried to use their possession game to slow down the pace of games, rather than push it higher, particularly against faster teams like Tampa Bay.

The thing about those teams 2013 and 2014... when people think speed, they tend to think players burning up the ice into the offensive zone on a rush. While the Blackhawks certain did that too, what really set them apart, particularly that dominant 2013 team, was how they used their speed defensively, without the puck. Just constant, unrelenting pressure on the puck carriers. They got into lanes, they closed gaps, they back-checked as fast as they skated up ice, they were happy to outman guys on the boards, cause they knew they could get back into position in time if they didn't come out of the puck battle with the puck, etc. They just never gave any team any time to do much of anything. There were stretches when they were basically forecheck-proof.



That said, I think the 'credit' goes to the 2005 lockout. The McDavid generation, for lack of a better term, are the first group that never had to 'relearn' hockey. Fast, transition, no-obstruction hockey is how they've been playing basically their entire lives. They don't know of anything different. So their skillsets have been developed towards this style of game for longer.

 

[Mickey Marner]

Mike Keenan introduced the short shift game in the 80's. The NHL has become progressively more of a sprint ever since.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

I don't think teams even try a different style. I think it's about speed because that's what people want it to be (especially fans). No teams want to go against the trend right now. I don't think it's about no other options. For example, I'd bet money you can win with skill and defense (I actually think that's how Washington mostly won in the playoffs last season). As long as you're not overly slow, you're good. Skill is the one thing you can't do without. The youth thing is just a bonus.

 

[StreetHawk]

As a Canucks fan, though it does pain me to say, it was the blackhawks who deserve credit for the transition from big heavy that we saw from LA, Ana, Boston from 2011 to 2015. Those 5 years LA won the cup twice and Boston made the finals in 2011 and 2013. Anaheim made the final 4 in 2015.

In 2013, the Hawks beat both LA in the western conference finals and went on to defeat Boston in the finals. Then in 2015, they beat Anaheim in the conference finals to meet up with TB in the finals.

The Hawks showed that their style was able to beat all 3 of the big heavy powerhouse teams during that period of time. It wasn’t that they were simply a bad matchup for just one of them. They beat all 3.

So they showed that you didn’t have to match size for size with them. You could counter their size with speed.

 

[Mickey Marner]

Wait. Toronto is based around speed? Uh... well they’ve never seemed above average speed wise when I’ve watched them the past couple years. I can’t honestly remember a game I watched where their team as a whole seemed notably faster than the other side

Just seems a bit odd that that’s supposed to be part of their identity with that

The Leafs aren't necessarily a fast team, but they play at a fast pace.

 

[Bedards Dad]

Players arent allowed to hit.

*Players arent allowed to hit outside of the rules.

 

[CupsOverCash]

SY has been building his team like this since he took over.

 

[maacoshark]

*Players arent allowed to hit outside of the rules.

And the rules are continually changing, slowly taking the physical part out if the game. Its turning into pond hockey.

 

[haveandare]

No team deserves credit imo, it's just the natural cycle of the league. Certain types of players thrive in certain eras.

 

[StreetHawk]

No team deserves credit imo, it's just the natural cycle of the league. Certain types of players thrive in certain eras.

It’s a copycat league. So, until there were teams that could beat the kings, bruins, ducks the league likely could have still trended more to the bigger players.

That’s why I think Chicago deserves credit for showing the nhl and other GMs that you don’t have to match size for size with those teams. A combination of playing fast, smart players, and crisp passing moves faster than anyone can skate and that size is a disadvantage if the puck is moved quickly.

 

[Oneiro]

It has less to do with any one team and more to do with a generation that's come in with better smarts, skating chops and hands.

I'd say the current league is way more influenced by Chicago's elaboration of what the Red Wings were doing than Pittsburgh's tactical change. What Pittsburgh did just allowed them to make the best of their two Hall of Fame talents (and top sniper) - not exactly a template for the rest of the league to follow.

 

[haveandare]

It’s a copycat league. So, until there were teams that could beat the kings, bruins, ducks the league likely could have still trended more to the bigger players.

That’s why I think Chicago deserves credit for showing the nhl and other GMs that you don’t have to match size for size with those teams. A combination of playing fast, smart players, and crisp passing moves faster than anyone can skate and that size is a disadvantage if the puck is moved quickly.

Before those heavy teams won, it was Detroit and Pitt though too. They had some heavy players but the games were won and lost by Crosby, Malkin, Letang, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, Lidstrom, etc. Even Chicago the first time had heavy guys like Buff, Ladd, Brouwer, etc.

I don't think the league is a copycat league as much as people say. Teams decide what type of team they want and they go toward that sometimes for years. I don't think everyone is really switching gears to copy the winner of the year before. If that were the case, the trend toward heavy, young, fast, etc wouldn't change as rapidly as it seems to. Teams shoot for the type of team they want and certain types of teams thrive in certain eras.

 

[shtorm2005]

IMO, youngsters get too much credits and often are overrated. Difference between them and experienced players it`s playoffs. Experienced players might be less spectacular in RS but show much of character in playoffs. I think it`s something that young players don`t have yet.

 

[pabst blue ribbon]

The older players (those drafted a few years before/after) played their minor hockey when minor/junior level coaches emphasized grit/strength and gm's/scouts valued it heavily. The players entering the league today started minor hockey around the same time the lockout started, with the NHL rule changes it's possible that coaches focused more on speed/skill at the minor hockey levels

 

[Mathew Barzal]

It was the Pens IMO. Most successful and quick teams before that we're quick because of the stretch pass (which is how Chicago played during the cup years). But Pittsburgh showed the type of success you can have by having defensemen constantly acting as a 4th forward and the league took notice.

I was going to say Chicago but you changed my mind. I distinctly recall the Canucks being killed by your stretch passes, not speed.

 

[zeke]

thanks, Gary Bettman.

 

[DaveG]

No team deserves credit imo, it's just the natural cycle of the league. Certain types of players thrive in certain eras.

Bingo.

No one team can take credit for this trend toward speed, it's something that kindof cycles every few years naturally, aside from drastic rule changes (05-06). Things will tilt back toward bigger, heavier teams at some point though probably not for a few years.
The youth movement is a natural cause (and some would argue design) of the salary cap. Even with the cap going up to varying degrees every year you still only have so much to spend on core players. So the easiest way to keep a contending window open for an extended period is through youth.

 

[EdmFlyersfan]

Gary Bettman and the Owners who backed the Salary Cap deserve the credit...prior to the mid-90's you had vets taking the spot from young players due to salary and reputation...Gary changed it all.

 

[Evergreen]

The salary cap is probably the single largest influence on the game becoming younger. You simply need talent on ELCs to be competitive. That also why we are seeing a premium put on drafting and developing guys moreso than buying talent in FA like the top teams of the preceding era.

Speed became more important after the 2005 lockout when they started calling more obstruction. Opened the game up. After the Kings won the Cup in 2012, we saw a brief period where size and puck possession were the top things teams wanted. But as their dynasty dwindled and the Pens went on to win more Cups with a speed-focused roster, speed became more prominent. This has been even more inportant as there has been a resurgence of penalties for obstruction.

 

[the_fan]

Parents deserve all the credit for giving birth to this small, athletic speed freaks we call NHLers

 

[puckpilot]

It's funny how nobody is really looking at what teams were like before the salary cap.

'80 Oilers speed and skill. Led by young Gretzky and Messier
'80 Islanders could play any way you wanted.
'90 Pittsburg speed and skill.
'90 Detroit. You want to see puck possession they had it in spades with the Russian 5
'90 Avalanche speed and skill.

Most, if not all, had players under 25 playing major parts.

Hockey is cyclical. Speed, skill and youth isn't exactly a new concept. Look at the 70s Canadiens. Flying Frenchmen and all that jazz.

 

[Bank Shot]

The Washington Capitals just won the Cup using neither speed nor youth.

 

[JerseyMike34]

Does anyone else remember when the league had a glowing puck. Does anyone remember the reason why the league did that? Or why they claimed to do that?

I do, it was because the speed of the game made it next to impossible for people in the outside of Canada who weren't used to hockey to keep up with the game.

So why isn't that the case now?