What Do You Miss Most About 'Old Time' Hockey?

[Canadiens1958]

Body Position

Poor shooting accuracy is a culprit as well. I don't understand how these guys who've been blasting pucks since they were five years old miss the target with such stunning frequency. Maybe too much time lifting weights and riding exercise bikes and not enough hours spent trying to pick the corners.

To me, a shot from within 30 feet should pretty much never miss the target, certainly not by more than a few inches. Yet we see guys launch it into the stands from the top of the face-off circle regularly.

Basic problem is poor body position,balance and execution time. Offensive players get into the slot but are not close to facing the net so the shot is weak or off target.When they try to align themselves with the net they are off balance or they take too long, allowing the goalie and defense time to re-act.

 

[Eisen]

I guarantee you. the new sticks play a huge role is the loss of shot and pass accuracy, ability to receive passes, tip pucks and take backhand shots.

It's no different then the focus on speed today, a lot of player skill deficiencies are overlooked if they can skate like the wind. Just like a lot of skilled players are overlooked if they can't skate like the wind.
When teams draft players now, they do it safely, as in speed, so even if said player doesn't turn out to be a player on their top 2 lines, they can still be used as checkers and grinders on the lower lines.
That's important in today's salary cap NHL.

To put it simply, teams don't try and take homerun hitters with their drafting anymore, they go for the singles hitters that are solid in the field who can be utility players if all else fails.

Weirdly enough, that is how you get a winning team in all EA NHL games.

 

[xerox]

Oh yea I forgot to mention the sticks. Todays sticks that break at basically every shot attempt is a comedy.

 

[TheTimTamSlammerMan]

CCM jerseys
more physical play
No trapezoid
white boards
arenas had the teams name or city in it, not an arena like Jobbing.com
24 teams before the 93/94 expansion
not everything was about money back then, all the players want now is money, and now the NHL is all about making money instead of what the fans want.
Rivalries get to play each other in SCF. Habs/Bruins, Rangers/Islanders, Flyers/Penguins, Red Wings/Blackhawks etc.
rivalries aren't the same anymore because you can't do half the stuff like you used to.
bench clearing brawls
Players invade the stands. Bruins invade MSG, Canucks invade MSG.
Campbell and Wales Conference
Less scoring and more intense games
no shootouts and games ending in ties
Tickets that cost less. Cheapest ticket at MSG is like $70.
Too many business people at the games

 

[habsjunkie2*]

I miss the days when people didn't complain about the lack of "old time" hockey.

Today's game is far superior in every way, IMO.

Considering you weren't alive for old time hockey and haven't even seen Gretzky in action, that's a peculiar stance to have.

 

[charliolemieux]

What I miss about "OLD TIME HOCKEY" is the bench clearing brawls.

With the lack of success of my beloved Leafs success in the 80's I became a fan of the Nordique's, and I used to love their annual playoff match-up with their hated rival Montreal.

3-4 bench clearing brawls during a 7 game series was not uncommon.

Total goonery I know! But damn that was some fun stuff to watch.

The new rules about "3rd man in" and "coming off the bench" has made the bench clearing brawl extinct.

So sad.

 

[Killion]

No rinkboard ads.
No on-ice ads.
No "Game Presentations".
Ties
Tube Skates
Wooden Sticks
Forgiving Equipment
Please remove the instigator rule
Get rid of the trapezoid behind the net
Allow the goalie to play the puck
Move the goal-line & net back to where it was
Use the standard square crease
Move the blue-lines to where they were (but leave the center red line out)
Remove players names from their jerseys
Do away with the shootout
Use the historical names for Divs'/Conf's
Contract to 24 teams
Do away with hard-cap, luxury tax & soft cap
Shorten the season to 64 games
etc etc etc.....

 

[JT Dutch*]

Basic problem is poor body position,balance and execution time. Offensive players get into the slot but are not close to facing the net so the shot is weak or off target.When they try to align themselves with the net they are off balance or they take too long, allowing the goalie and defense time to re-act.

... What I don't miss is fans who've never played at a level close to the NHL thinking they can tell NHL players how to score goals. Initially, it's pretty funny - but it gets old really fast.

 

[tjcurrie]

Character is a good word to sum a lot of it up.
- I miss the old buildings like the Chicago Stadium and it's organ,
- I miss players like Brett Hull, Bob Probert, Jeremy Roenick, Tim Hunter, Dale Hunter, Basil McRae, Ed Belfour, etc etc,
- I miss the divisional playoff format where we saw the real rivalries like Minnesota vs Chicago vs St.Louis etc etc, not the phony rivalries the NHL and media try to dish us now.
-I miss the players being real people and not multi-millionaires who play for the $$
- I miss being able to really associate a player with a team unless there was a big trade: which by the way was more player for player than todays deals that always involve $$ or trying to save $$
- I miss players playing hard and not having to hear about controversial hits 20 times a week
- I miss creative yet traditional looking uniforms with color and identity
- I miss hockey cards and sticker albums being affordable and all about collecting for fun rather than card companies catering to adults with large bank accounts or bad spending habits trying to get a card with a jersey in it that's already worth as much as Gordie Howe's 3rd year card even though the guy has only played 2 seasons. As well as the players having just 1 or 2 rookie cards rather than 17.
- I miss companies not gouging you for a jersey

I think that sums it up for me.

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

Use the historical names for Divs'/Conf's

"Historical"? They were implemented in 1975 and were used for 18 seasons. The current names have been around just as long

Also, considering how many people think it's a travesty that these "historical" names were removed, I've yet to come across anybody who can give me the first names of all four people that these divisions are named after. It can't be that important if nobody knows.

 

[Killion]

"Historical"? I've yet to come across anybody who can give me the first names of all four people that these divisions are named after. It can't be that important if nobody knows.

Say wut Haymaker?. I thought it was a nice gesture, a tip of the hat to the past, the builders of the game. I much prefer the Prince of Wales Trophy (established in 1925 btw) to the Presidents Cup; and people should take the time to appreciate men like Big Jim Norris, Conn Smythe, Lester Patrick et al. Understanding the history of a sport & its development enhances the experience. These generic East-West etc titles are as plastic as the new buildings every team plays in today. Some window dressing would be nice.

 

[Section337]

That I was younger.

 

[Buck Aki Berg]

Say wut Haymaker?. I thought it was a nice gesture, a tip of the hat to the past, the builders of the game. I much prefer the Prince of Wales Trophy (established in 1925 btw) to the Presidents Cup; and people should take the time to appreciate men like Big Jim Norris, Conn Smythe, Lester Patrick et al. Understanding the history of a sport & its development enhances the experience. These generic East-West etc titles are as plastic as the new buildings every team plays in today. Some window dressing would be nice.

That's three ... no peeking on wikipedia to get the fourth

I'm not saying that we shouldn't name the divisions after people who have built the game, I'm saying that we shouldn't just arbitrarily hold on to something that was used for eighteen seasons, and was done away with almost two decades ago. It's crying about "history" for the sake of having something to cry about, and calling these names "historical" is revisionist history, since they only date back to 1975.

 

[Killion]

It's crying about "history" for the sake of having something to cry about, and calling these names "historical" is revisionist history, since they only date back to 1975.

Yes, I do see your point, however, I think naming the Divisions & the Conferences after Builders of the game was/is a great idea, one of the few good ones the BOG's & the NHL's come up with in eons. Frankly, if we look down the road & into the future, would not surprise me in the least to see the titles to conferences & divisions along with the Presidents Trophy itself packaged up & sold to individual corporate sponsors; Yormark in Florida leading the charge.... And tell ya what?. You wont be laughing & calling me a "Drama Queen" when that happens Haymaker.

 

[Hockey Team]

I think one thing that should be at the top of anyone's list is the fact that fans look at crap like a player's cap hit. It's a little ridiculous when fans start looking into a team's finances.

Any serious hockey fan knows what the cap hits are for the players on their team. Isn't that just ridiculous? I don't know what all the players on the yankees make even though the info is pretty public yet I know what every player on the rangers make.

 

[DJ Man]

I miss those booming slaps shots. Bobby Hull used to skate just past the blue line and unload. He might miss by six feet, but if he was on target the goalie couldn't move fast enough, and with those old style goal nets, the puck would always rebound off the twine halfway to center ice while his team was celebrating.

Seems to me that far too many goals today involve the puck popping out of a scrum and dribbling just over the line, requiring video replay.

(I must be getting old!)

 

[mikitas donut]

I think one thing that should be at the top of anyone's list is the fact that fans look at crap like a player's cap hit. It's a little ridiculous when fans start looking into a team's finances.

Any serious hockey fan knows what the cap hits are for the players on their team. Isn't that just ridiculous? I don't know what all the players on the yankees make even though the info is pretty public yet I know what every player on the rangers make.

I find it annoying on some level, but the moment the league was capped, people were bound to start caring about players' salaries. I remember a ton of people around here (Chicago) could not understand why the Hawks were broken up after winning the cup. These people just started watching during the final round and had no idea there was a salary cap in the league.

When teams have lots of turnover because of cap management, people will want to know how much players cost. Most people don't care about how much baseball players make because that doesn't affect player turnover like it does in hockey.

 

[Peter9]

I find it annoying on some level, but the moment the league was capped, people were bound to start caring about players' salaries. I remember a ton of people around here (Chicago) could not understand why the Hawks were broken up after winning the cup. These people just started watching during the final round and had no idea there was a salary cap in the league.

When teams have lots of turnover because of cap management, people will want to know how much players cost. Most people don't care about how much baseball players make because that doesn't affect player turnover like it does in hockey.

Absolutely right. This has certainly been the biggest change in discussions about the NHL in the media and on the public boards. Cap management is crucial to team success, and yet it is really not part of the sport or the game. It bores me to death. If I'd wanted to pursue that sort of thing, I would have become an accountant or majored in business. Pursuing it for pleasure--the reason I follow ice hockey--is beyond me. Yes, it's the biggest change in the nature of the game I've seen since I began following the NHL almost 60 years ago.

 

[CHGoalie27]

Character is a good word to sum a lot of it up.
- I miss the old buildings like the Chicago Stadium and it's organ,
- I miss players like Brett Hull, Bob Probert, Jeremy Roenick, Tim Hunter, Dale Hunter, Basil McRae, Ed Belfour, etc etc,
- I miss the divisional playoff format where we saw the real rivalries like Minnesota vs Chicago vs St.Louis etc etc, not the phony rivalries the NHL and media try to dish us now.
-I miss the players being real people and not multi-millionaires who play for the $$
- I miss being able to really associate a player with a team unless there was a big trade: which by the way was more player for player than todays deals that always involve $$ or trying to save $$
- I miss players playing hard and not having to hear about controversial hits 20 times a week
- I miss creative yet traditional looking uniforms with color and identity
- I miss hockey cards and sticker albums being affordable and all about collecting for fun rather than card companies catering to adults with large bank accounts or bad spending habits trying to get a card with a jersey in it that's already worth as much as Gordie Howe's 3rd year card even though the guy has only played 2 seasons. As well as the players having just 1 or 2 rookie cards rather than 17.
- I miss companies not gouging you for a jersey

I think that sums it up for me.

Add "I miss teams fighting for each other over fighting for show" and you basically covered it.

 

[Mayor Bee]

24 teams before the 93/94 expansion

You miss that one season (1992-93) of 24 teams, with everything before and everything sense being "take it or leave it"?

 

[Oowatanite]

Me I miss the goaltending and the goalies, back then the goalies were different, some were standup, some were butterfly, some were inverted V. I thought the mask was cooler looking because they were way more simple in design. The goalies today have a generic fell to them, they all play the same way, the butterfly. The pads are way oversized and they all seem to look the same. I don't know maybe it's just me but I'd much rather watch Roy, Belfour, Vanbiesbrouck, Barrasso, Fuhr, Richter, Hextall over any of the goalies today.

 

[Long Duk Dong]

I agree about players today seeming robotic. Everything is a system, and the game is kind of too fast now. The players have football pads, composite sticks are crap. All of this makes less room on the ice for creative play.

I started watching hockey in 1987, and prefer that era over what we have today for the most part.

 

[Brooklanders*]

My heyday was Prime Gretz, Lemieux, Jagr, Roy, Messier, Coffey, Roenick, Modano, Turgeon, Yzerman, Lafontaine, Bourque. Pretty much the late 80's and early 90's was my favorite time. I miss the Superstar player and multiple stars on each team. Wa too many teams in the league right now. Talent is so diluted in todays game. I also miss the true clean hard hits, think Stevens or KAsper. I dont even think the term stay at home defenseman exists any more.

 

[Ogopogo*]

I really miss the art of the game. Today's game is so much about creating robots - following a defensive system - and not about checking, passing, skating, stickhandling and shooting. That is what hockey was pure back in the 70s and 80s, but the 90s came, big money caused chaos and coaches realized that they could win games by playing a stifling defensive system and completely abandon the spirit of the game.

Today the game is checking, grinding, checking, grinding and crashing the net to get a garbage goal. Give me a Bossy snipe any day.

I also miss the art of goaltending. Today that also is a robotic position with big equipment and simply letting the puck hit the goalie. I loved the way Tony Esposito and Grant Fuhr played the position. Goaltending was reflexes and quickness not just trying to be as big in the net as you can.

I applaud players like Stamkos, Giroux, Eberle, Malkin and others who still bring artistry to the game. The robots I could do without.

edit: I didn't read the thread before posting. Apparently many others feel the same way.

Some other thoughts:

I also miss the old point system - loser points make me want to puke.
I miss the days before TV timeouts. The game just went on and the network showed a commercial at its own risk

 

[FiveForDrawingBlood]

No helmets probably. Today more concussions/head injuries than before helmets...go figure?

Character in the game be next. The tough guys, old time rinks, the Hewitts or Gallivans, O-Pee-Chee gum hockey cards, all added to game. But when I was growing up had 6 or 7 of best 10 players all time in game at same time, may have made game temporarily better than it actually should have been. Orr, Beliveau, Howe, Hull, Lafleur, Mahovlich.

Today it is all system like robots.