Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
So, you have chosen to raise this lament from watching nearly three minutes of guys stumbling around on all fours on the ice, and struggling to get to their feet? Beyond Stevens's devastating hits I personally don't see anything special or above bar in the level of actually hockey being played in those clips. I can only fathom from your response that you somehow relish in seeing the potential for brain damage, because there is virtually nothing else different or notable compared to the "new NHL" in this short montage.
While I love hard checking hockey, I can do without this sort of stuff in light of how much faster the game has become, and with a much higher emphasis on puck possession and sustained movement. Especially considering that the game is probably fundamentally safer as a result, I for one can't imagine what there is anything even worth missing in the low scoring, slow, interference plagued old NHL. Give me Johnny Hockey over this antiquated nonsense.
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Well that's what it had turned into but as with a lot of things, it goes in cycles. Before that it was high scoring and before that it was low scoring. If you go back to before helmets were mandatory and there was no instigator it was fast and entertaining and likely less dangerous than it is today. For me old time hockey was the Flying Frenchmen of Montreal.
Players have gotten bigger and faster and equipment has improved so that players skate around as if they are invincible and complain now when they get clocked with equipment that has turned into a weapon.
I'd like to add there is nothing wrong with low scoring games as long as the skill and effort are there. I read an article once where it was shown that as the skill goes up, the scoring goes down and visa versa. An example is the 70s and 80s where there was lots of expansion and the WHA lowering the skill levels causing the scoring to go up. Now they've changed the rules in order to raise the scoring but I look at it as just trying to keep the casual fan interested.