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

[JD1]

Today's game is obviously speed and youth. Toronto and Pittsburgh are two teams that share the identity, albeit Pittsburgh getting a tad older. McDavid is the prime example of speed/youth. MacKinnon needs brought up in this discussion, too. But who deserves the most credit for this evolution/change (team or player)?

- Chicago? Some will claim the Hawks and their Cup runs, but I think they were more skilled than loaded with speed. I think they deserve credit for puck possession, but not the speed/youth movement.

- Pittsburgh? They will get a ton of credit for back to back cups and every team changing their backend to be puckmovers, but I actually think they copied off a team they struggled with in the past.

- McDavid? MacKinnon? Karlsson? Young dmen? While all these guys deserve to be the example of what today's game is all about, I don't give them credit either.


My answer is actually the New York Islanders. Around 2012-ish they were on to something way before it went full stride into the NHL and gave Pittsburgh absolute fits with speed. Pittsburgh even created their own buzz line at one point but never went all-in with the identity under Dan Bylsma. He relied on vets as many did in the NHL. But the Isles had something going with a team of speed and started to make noise with it. But then false hope set in with a 4th line of heavy guys who had their career year and they lost their identity because of it. But IMO they planted the seeds for what was the eventual evolution of the game. And they get absolutely zero credit for it.

For today's game - who do you give the credit to for the speed/youth transition? Maybe you want to give credit to 2-3 of those players/teams. So be it. Interested to hear what HF thinks was the main culprit for the evolution of the game.

a combination of the various development environments producing capable kids and a CBA where superstars make all the money and mid tier vets get pushed out for ELC contracts

 

[The Grim Reaper]

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

Lets not pretend that the Caps team of last year was slow...

 

[Sabresruletheschool]

The 06 Sabres were a super fast team. If every defenceman didn't get hurt, I think they would of won the cup.

 

[SourTemplePilot]

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?

Bigger wide screen TV's and high-definition?

 

[Bank Shot]

Lets not pretend that the Caps team of last year was slow...

They weren't fast.

They were a big heavy veteran team

 

[JerseyMike34]

Bigger wide screen TV's and high-definition?

Maybe? I'd think that would make the game harder to watch. Wouldn't you?

 

[CraigsList]

06 Canes take the credit. That brought speed and rolled 4 lines that constantly attacked. Got them a cup too.

I don’t think you’re team introduced the speed part. They definitely introduced the necessity for depth in the playoffs though.

 

[CanadienShark]

Oilers tried speed and youth from '10-16 but failed. Too many rookies. And the Western Conference was super-heavy (and not old like it is now) and crushed the kids.

I'd say the Pens in their cup runs proved it could work.

Because they lacked talented puckmovers to complement those forwards.

 

[traparatus]

I think 2012 LA Kings could absolutely win the Cup in 2019. I always felt that the copy cat concept is not nearly as dominant as people make it out to be.

I think Pens pushed home the concept that you can't take your sweet time in transition. Individual ability of defenders is so high that if you let them get set, it's almost impossible to score. I think the days of dusting the puck off eight times and exchanging 4 pointless passes with your D partner are done.

Washington stopped all the speed and transition the league has to offer last year. Vegas was probably the fastest team to go turn from defense to offense last year and by the end of that series they looked like they were skating in quick sand.

 

[Echo Roku]

Maybe? I'd think that would make the game harder to watch. Wouldn't you?

Wait, why? HD especially would help differentiate the puck movement from everything else.

 

[JerseyMike34]

Wait, why? HD especially would help differentiate the puck movement from everything else.

Just my opinion. If you couldn't follow it in SD, HD would be more distractions to miss the puck/game.

 

[Echo Roku]

Just my opinion. If you couldn't follow it in SD, HD would be more distractions to miss the puck/game.

Like what? What would be more distracting? Because the downside of SD is that the puck can get lost in video artifacting and other lack of quality that makes it blur into the image.

 

[SourTemplePilot]

Maybe? I'd think that would make the game harder to watch. Wouldn't you?

I guess it depends on the viewer.

I have an easier time tracking the puck now on a "65 HD TV compared to my old 32" CRT .

 

[voxel]

Because they lacked talented puckmovers to complement those forwards.

They had Schultz and Petry and a good year of Ryan Whitney before his foot disintegrated.. so what you say is half-true. The other side of the problem is lack of D-men who can win battles and lack of defensive forwards who can do that same. Once in the D-zone... the young Oilers had problems getting control of the puck.

In the end.. you just can't have "speed and youth" if you spend most of that time in your own zone. In the O-zone.. Hall, Nuge, Ebs, Gagner were magic for about two seasons before various injuries separated/derailed them.

 

[CDN24]

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

But Vegas got to the finals with a roster of cast-offs who played very fast. Fast is not just the ability to skate fast. In Vegas case they played fast, moved the puck quickly, played an agressive forecheck.

That is the change I see and I think the knights success led a few GMs to rethink their roster, playing a faster game can be successful with inferior talent.

 

[Jamin]

Oilers tried speed and youth from '10-16 but failed. Too many rookies. And the Western Conference was super-heavy (and not old like it is now) and crushed the kids.

I'd say the Pens in their cup runs proved it could work.

And then Chia made us a slow grinding team as the league started shifting to speed.

 

[Paperbagofglory]

Once a team the league is marketing and needs them to go far and said team happens to be big and slow, look for the rules to magically change again to encourage a rough and tumble defensive game.

The cycle has always repeated itself between skill speed and a slower more physical game, its been happening a lot longer than the last few years. The lightning winning the cup supposedly ushered in a skill a speed era with limited obstruction, then we get the slow low scoring kings teams winning multiple championships.

 

[Atas2000]

Today's game is obviously speed and youth. Toronto and Pittsburgh are two teams that share the identity, albeit Pittsburgh getting a tad older. McDavid is the prime example of speed/youth. MacKinnon needs brought up in this discussion, too. But who deserves the most credit for this evolution/change (team or player)?

- Chicago? Some will claim the Hawks and their Cup runs, but I think they were more skilled than loaded with speed. I think they deserve credit for puck possession, but not the speed/youth movement.

- Pittsburgh? They will get a ton of credit for back to back cups and every team changing their backend to be puckmovers, but I actually think they copied off a team they struggled with in the past.

- McDavid? MacKinnon? Karlsson? Young dmen? While all these guys deserve to be the example of what today's game is all about, I don't give them credit either.


My answer is actually the New York Islanders. Around 2012-ish they were on to something way before it went full stride into the NHL and gave Pittsburgh absolute fits with speed. Pittsburgh even created their own buzz line at one point but never went all-in with the identity under Dan Bylsma. He relied on vets as many did in the NHL. But the Isles had something going with a team of speed and started to make noise with it. But then false hope set in with a 4th line of heavy guys who had their career year and they lost their identity because of it. But IMO they planted the seeds for what was the eventual evolution of the game. And they get absolutely zero credit for it.

For today's game - who do you give the credit to for the speed/youth transition? Maybe you want to give credit to 2-3 of those players/teams. So be it. Interested to hear what HF thinks was the main culprit for the evolution of the game.

Speed and youth... and less skill and hockey IQ, less physicality that used to be the brand of the NHL, boring games of figure skating. Who is responsible for this "great" evolution òf the game?