I'm a bit late to the party, but I guess I have a short list:
1. Rivalries that mattered.
2. Nastiness that seemed fueled by the incident, moment, buildup, or rivalry more so than ego/pride like it seems to be today (scrums after
every moderately hard hit... haaaaate).
3. Skating and passing through the neutral zone instead of clearances from the d-zone disguised as passes to the neutral zone that end up chipped in, and rarely chased with any intention (so glad they got rid of two line passes so we can watch those chip-ins instead
). I understand that the rink is the same size, yet players are bigger and faster, so I guess that's just something I'll have to deal with.
4. Occasional sustained dominance by teams that simply draft, sign, and develop better than other teams. I like modern parity on a night-to-night basis as a viewer, but I liked the mystique of "dynasty" teams, and the significance of beating one when it mattered. Having said all that, I do agree with the salary cap (despite being a fan of one of the richest teams: Montreal), so go figure.
5. Passing in general. Maybe players of yesteryear skated slower, and thus were easier to hit with passes, I dunno. But it frustrates me sometimes watching both the passing decisions (often trying to go
through opponents instead of
around them) AND execution. Seems like guys who can actually land a saucer pass flat on a teammate's stick are in short supply these days or something, despite ice surface maintenance making GIANT leaps forward around the league over the years.
6. Sticks that don't break every time you fart on them sideways or go to stick check an opponent. As someone who uses the newer sticks, I understand how they feel better to use, but then again I've never had to cover the point in a game that might mean millions of dollars for my club without a stick, because it shattered simply trying to lift an opponent's stick or battling for a loose puck 5 seconds earlier.
7. The backhand. Even after the wide-spread use of curved sticks, it seemed like many players were able to both pass and shoot with both sides of the blade. Now everyone seems to freak out whenever one of the few (Datsyuk, for example, Crosby another... can only 2 of the top 3 players in the league execute one consistently??) actually pulls something off with the backhand. I've always loved that Gordie Howe anecdote (I think it was him) about when he was asked about going out to practice with the "wrong-handed" stick, and he simply replied "does it matter?" Modern hockey players almost seem to approach their tool like field hockey these days, preferring to attempt a toe drag and fire a wrister
through defenders instead of blitzing around them on the backhand and trying to fire the puck at the net that way. I understand how that kind of screen is hard for goalies to pick up sometimes, but at least SOMETIMES pretend like you're aware that the blade has two sides, for god's sake. I mean, not all defensemen play on their "natural" side these days (as defined by shooting hand, I guess), so why not try to take advantage of that more often?
edit: Canadiens1958 and canucksfan also bring up really good points.
...even as a Flyers fan that was simply a awesome hit, maybe the best pure clean hit I've ever seen in Hockey
