The players won't do anything until it is talked about. The only way to get people talking about it is through the media. No player is going to go, ya know what, I've had enough of this clutch and grab, I'm gonna call out the refs and play an honest game in these play offs. Players and team personnel are not allowed to criticize the work the refs do. Pretty sure they get fined more for that then some violent acts that happen on the ice
. But you know who can criticize the refs and not get fined?
Take fighting for example, until a few articles came out saying they should abolish fighting no one even thought about it. Now in 2017 we are getting pretty close, or at least closer than a lot of purists thought we would get to ending fighting.
EDIT: Recreational drug use is another. Story broke out, like you wrote my initial reaction was who cares. But here we are...2 years after the article and the NHL is starting testing for those drugs.
Goalie gear, I believe one of the GM's brought it up a little while back about it but until someone brought up the issue and it became talked about on a league wide basis they had no plans of altering the equipment. Now, goalie gear is being revised for the 2017-18 season.
Until it is talked about publicly, whether it be a player, coach or person of the media this will never change.