Every other penalty in the NHL rulebook relates to something a player (or coach) does to try to gain an advantage in the course of game play. That is, every other infraction exists because the act itself can contribute either to scoring or preventing a goal (or sometimes to intimidate the opposition), irrespective of the presence of the referees. These acts are made illegal because, despite being "useful" tactics, they are either dangerous or otherwise detract from the quality of the play. And, if we didn't have referees in a game, players would be slashing, kneeing, boarding, high-sticking, hooking, and tripping all over the place to gain the advantage.
In my books, trying to gain an advantage in the actual playing of hockey is not cheating -- it's just pushing the envelope. Fortunately, we have referees there to keep it from being pushed too far.
Diving, on the other hand, is the only case where a player can be rewarded for actively disadvantaging himself. The player is no longer trying to actually play the game, but is trying to "game the system" that's put in place to ensure the integrity of the game. That's where it crosses the line into cheating.
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