I've heard this idea/notion discussed a few times over the last few years. Friedman was talking about it a little while back. I can see it happen. Skill is skill and creativity is creativity. What kind of a defenseman would Connor McDavid make? I'd like to find out.
Forwards fill in for dmen all the time and play the point on PP. Defensmen rotate down to the slot/goal line. Eventually, a team will embrace an all out position-free roster idea and demolish the competition.
You got my vote. Hockey 30 years from now will be position-free.
Agreed. Sometime I watch hockey and I wonder why are so many people standing around, dumping pucks at the wall, not getting a shot for half a period, etc. It seems to me like hockey should go back to what the Russians were doing in the 70s and 80s, a 5-man unit that can skate, pass and shoot and controls the puck well. Everyone in motion. That is what this game is meant to be.
I do believe we will see the end of the traditional 4th line and ''grinders'' so to speak with a huge emphasis placed on players who can skate and pass. As you said there will be no more fixed position. There will be a lot of offense and the games will be a ton more exciting. We will see skilled players flying up and down the ice non-stop like in 3-on-3 overtime.
Of course, some naysayers will say that coaches of bad teams will just resort to playing the trap. But we are already moving into an offensive era and with owners' thirst for money, everyone will jump in the bandwagon and have an all-out offensive team. The games will sell out, the fans will be happy. Carolina's owner said something of that effect this week.
Moreover, taking all the skilled players means less scorers available for the KHL (especially with expanding to 32 teams now) and thus less competition for NHL