I don't know why I'm setting myself up for disappointment, but as you seem confused by NHL/hockey history, I'm going to try to pitch in:
-In 1979 dilution started.
It's probably better to study some history before you make incorrect statements like this.
If you want to say when N.A. pro-hockey "dilution" started, that would be 1967 for obvious reasons. Then, because of the WHA, it got radically further "diluted" from about 1972, reaching a "dilution peak" around 1975. In 1975-76, there were 14 pro teams in the WHA, and 18 pro teams in the NHL, for a total of 32 pro teams -- more than today.
In 1979, the WHA folded and the NHL absorbed 4 of its teams to move from 17 to 21 teams. (This number stayed the same for 12 years, until 1991 when the Sharks were added.) In other words, 1979 was actually a
reduction of teams, not an increase. In 1978-79, there had been 23 teams (plus one more than didn't finish the WHA season), and in 1979-80 there were 21. About 50+ well-paying jobs for pro-hockey players were cut in 1979.
4 teams from the WHA were added to the NHL, the same year the Great One entered the NHL. Do you know how bad some of these new teams were? They didnt just cherry pick players like Vegas did. The Jets were -154 in goal differential, NEGATIVE 154 in goals against. The Whalers were -87, Devils -86, Wings -87, Nordiques -75.
I don't know why you think this started in 1979. It didn't. Consider Bobby Orr and the Bruins in 1970-71, a season when Boston had scoring leaders number 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8,
and 9 in the NHL. How much parity was there? 8 of 14 teams (57% of the NHL) were in their 1st to 4th season in the League. While the powerhouse Bruins scored 399 goals, the Minnesota North Stars scored 191, a difference of 209 goals. The Rangers allowed 177 goals against, while the California Golden Seals allowed 320.
Fast-forward to 1992-93: Detroit and Pittsburgh scored 369 and 367 goals respectively, while Ottawa and San Jose scored 202 and 218. Pittsburgh at .708 that season, and San Jose and Ottawa at .143.
2014-15? The Rangers at .652 and Buffalo at .262.
You call this competitive with parity? The talent was already secured by the Elite teams. Every team in the entire Smyth division had negative goal differential.
(It's "Smyth
e" -- I'm guessing you have no idea who he is...). First of all, can I ask why you're implying that Gretzky's team, the Oilers, was an "Elite team"? They were anything but. The Oilers entered the NHL with 4 protected players from their WHA team, and the NHL broke its own rule and stole one of them (Bengt Guftafsson) back, leaving Edmonton 3 players to enter the NHL with. They were Gretzky and a bunch of scrubs, and got the last draft pick of all teams.
Despite this, the Oilers made the playoffs in their first season. They were 20-37-12 as late as March 9th and nowhere near the playoffs, but then went 8-2-1 to end the season, with Gretzky getting 24 points in those 11 games. Gretzky was still the age of an Ontario high-school student, but had the best PPG in the NHL, and would continue to do so every season until 1988-89 (and would do so again in 1990-91 and 1993-94). As someone else said, the Oilers were Hartford but for Gretzky's presence.
Talent was not "secured by elite teams" in 1979. The NHL draft had been in full force for several years, and no team had a particular monopoly.
In fact, the disparity and diversion of NHL talent was probably more "fair" in Gretzky's prime years than at any time in history, with the exception of the post-Lockout era (post-2005 to now). No one team had a stranglehold on players or big contracts or big salaries, though that would start to change after Gretzky's 'trade'.
Next: No, every team in the Smythe did not have "negative goal differential". Calgary's goal-differential in the 1980s was +453.
It's true, however, that the "Western" half of the NHL (Smythe and esp. Norris divisions) were less defensive than the "Eastern" halves. So, let's see: What were the best NHL teams (regular season) in the 1980s (1980-1990), excepting Gretzky's team, Edmonton (and L.A. 1988-1990)? The answers are: Montreal, Philadelphia, Boston, Calgary, NY Islanders.
So, let's see how Gretzky did against those
top teams only in those 10 years, 1980-1990:
vs. Montreal
34GP: 18 + 45 = 63PTS (1.85 PPG)
vs. Philadelphia
32GP: 29 + 41 = 70PTS (2.19 PPG)
vs. Boston
33GP: 15 + 31 = 46PTS (1.39 PPG)
vs. Calgary
77GP: 54 + 115 = 169PTS (2.19 PPG)
vs. NY Islanders
32GP: 21 + 46 = 67PTS (2.09 PPG)
In total, then, he scored 415 points in 208 games, or 2 points per game, or
160 points per 80 games.
So yeah, if Gretzky had to play against only the top-5 teams of the decade and everybody else had to play against all 20 other teams, he would have won the scoring titles by only 40 points every year instead of 75.
-Hey, lets put the Pittsburgh Penguins with Lemieux and Jagr, Recchi, Stevens, Trottier, Paul Coffey and put them up against college teams and see how the stats go.
We... already did...??
The Penguins of the early-90s played against San Jose in 1991-92 and 1992-93. The mighty Sharks, in those two seasons combined, put up a 28-129-7 record (.192), a worse two-season record than that of any team Gretzky ever faced in his prime. Meanwhile, the next season, Ottawa joined the NHL, going .143 in 1992-93 (and .220, .240, and .250 the next three after that).
So, we
did see exactly what you said: the "Penguins with Lemieux and Jagr, Recchi, Stevens, Trottier, Paul Coffey... against college teams".
The new teams that entered the league all got annihilated outside of the Oilers.
I don't know which teams you're referring to here. Quebec, Hartford, Winnipeg (the 1979 entrants)? Those teams all did well at different times. The Jets had the 4th-best record in the NHL in 1985 and made the playoffs seven years in a row in the mid-80s. Quebec was a really good team in the mid-80s, having over 90 points three years in a row (90 was like 100 then), and eliminating Montreal from the playoffs in '85 and making the Conference series. Hartford was less competitive, but did finish 1st in their division (ahead of Boston, Montreal) in 1987 and made the playoffs seven years in a row.