Red Wings - Maple Leafs rivalry
Rivalries period
Old buildings
Old teams (Specially Jets of course)
Tight physical games (Not the dead puck era ones) Creativity
Four divisions and divisional playoffs
Tough to get misty eyed for either Ziegler or Eagleson.
Ziegler happend to be NHL president during an era of two generational super stars in Gretzky and Lemieux. Ziegler bombed in the marketing department.
Things I miss that I hope still can be brought back like adfree boards and organ music only. Especially organ music only. How hard can it be?
And of course I agree with most of the things people have alredy said. But that I think sadly wont ever return like optional helmets, no "defending" of clean hits, not making a new rule every time a player gets injured, goaltender gear, smoking allowed in buildings etc..
1) Hatred - Many players back then hated each other and to this day still won't talk much (if at all) to the "other side". Makes for great, intense rivalry.
2) Free agency - Somewhat links to the first but there is way too much player turnover today. Back then teammates were like family and a uniform meant something. This also lead to a fan being much more capable of feeling like they belonged to a family.
3) Hip checks - My favourite type of check. I may be wrong but it seemed like a tool that was used more often back then. Relatively painless but looks spectacular!
5 games vs. division opponent - 35
2 games vs. rest of league - 44
3 bonus games
Teams in the Northeast and West would play:
6 games vs. division oppenent - 36
2 games vs. rest of league - 46
Top four in each division make the playoffs. Playoff within your division.
I also liked when all the arenas weren't uniform size. The players are too big and fast now to go any smaller than 200x85, but I would allow teams to build rinks any size they wanted from 200x85 up to 200x100.
I like that setup. That would bring back the old Patrick Division Rivals, minus Pittsburgh. I'm not sure I like going back to top 4 teams in each division make the playoffs though.
Lots of good points, but I really miss the toughness and accountability. The rivalry then seemed so much better than now, at least to me. I also miss the old HNIC along with the song. I despise the new HNIC. Jim Hughson is terrible. I miss Don Wittman too, RIP. Steve Armitage used to do the Western games for information, etc. I do miss the younger Bob Cole and Dick Irvin Jr. was pretty informative. I grew up in the 80s and early 90s so I don't remember the days before that. I started watching hockey in 1979. In my area, you could only watch hockey if you had a satellite and pick up any game depending on what locations you were on. Being a US person growing up in a non-hockey hotbed, I could watch HNIC and any game I wanted free. I loved Saturday Nights because I could catch Caps games and then turn on the Jets or Oilers later during the regular season. To me, the current NHL might be faster, but no where near as physical or tough as it used to be when I was growing up. I miss the true goons too. Most of the other things I miss, people have already covered.
More than anything I miss the media (TSN primarily) not exploding over every single big/semi-dirty hit. This isn't even an "old time hockey" thing. As recently as before the lockout the media mostly left hits alone, only discussing the hits worth discussing. Now basically every TSN intermission is based around some type of big hit "controversy" and if a player should be suspended.
I guess I just really miss when a guy like Scott Stevens would obliterate someone coming through the middle with their head down, and all the media would say is "that's a damn good hit, guy should have kept his head up." Today, it would make all the headlines, and media members would be calling for a lengthy suspension. Because of this, I seriously doubt we ever see a physical demon like Scott Stevens for a long, long time.
[QUOTE=Krut;33268828]I guess I just really miss when a guy like Scott Stevens would obliterate someone coming through the middle with their head down, and all the media would say is "that's a damn good hit, guy should have kept his head up." QUOTE]
I bet Eric Lindros doesn't feel this way.......even as a Flyers fan that was simply a awesome hit, maybe the best pure clean hit I've ever seen in Hockey
I guess I just really miss when a guy like Scott Stevens would obliterate someone coming through the middle with their head down, and all the media would say is "that's a damn good hit, guy should have kept his head up." QUOTE]
I bet Eric Lindros doesn't feel this way.......even as a Flyers fan that was simply a awesome hit, maybe the best pure clean hit I've ever seen in Hockey
IMO it's the most significant, maybe the most famous hit of all time. Today we would be debating whether or not Stevens should be suspended for life, and if that type of hit should be banned.
Creativity indeed. The loss of that probably comes with the development of better defensive systems, and the improvement of the bottom 6 but tell me you don't miss seeing the Oilers passing like crazy or the Soviets of the 70s playing like they were.
IMO it's the most significant, maybe the most famous hit of all time. Today we would be debating whether or not Stevens should be suspended for life, and if that type of hit should be banned.
exactly....in today's game he'd get at least a 10gm suspension imho........
exactly....in today's game he'd get at least a 10gm suspension imho........
Yeah pretty sad isn't it. Stevens had lots of clean hits and some of the best all time. As another poster mentioned, I do miss the intense hatred from back then. Now they all seem to be best pals.
What I miss the most is almost all player related. The main thing is I can't connect with players anymore. Even in the early 90's players had a working man's persona. Now they act like spoiled brats and drive cars worth more than I might ever make. Players are like robots now too. The NHL tells what they can or can't say and they go along with it. They play like robots also.
As each year passes I find myself watching less and less hockey.
The loss of hockey fundamentals is a major blow to the quality of the game.Posters have mentioned the obvious - virtual disappearance of the backhand pass and shot but there are a number of other fundamentals that are virtually ignored.
!.) Wingers rarely take the wide arc to the net on the rush. Effectively nullifying odd man advantages buy eliminating wider passing / attacking lanes and choices for the defensive team. Somehow this flaw is misinterpreted as good defense when in fact it is bad offense.
2.) Players watching their shot instead of picking up their defensive responsibilities. Once the shot leaves the stick there is nothing a player can do about it. Your team mates and the crowd will tell you if a goal was scored. Your only concern is the defensive end of things.
3.) The tape to tape pass has virtually disappeared.Nice to talk about speed but if a pass is in the area and the receiving player has to change pace or alter his arc to get the pass any advantages that extra speed may bring are lost.
4.) The deflection. Certain players used to master the art around the net, getting their stick on shots going wide and creating goals. Forced the defense to play wider and provided the point men with more options.
5.) The one-timer. Initially efficient but has become so commonplace and telegraphed that it is quickly becoming a liability since the defense is allowed to focus on a much narrower zone that has to be covered.
The loss of hockey fundamentals is a major blow to the quality of the game.Posters have mentioned the obvious - virtual disappearance of the backhand pass and shot but there are a number of other fundamentals that are virtually ignored.
!.) Wingers rarely take the wide arc to the net on the rush. Effectively nullifying odd man advantages buy eliminating wider passing / attacking lanes and choices for the defensive team. Somehow this flaw is misinterpreted as good defense when in fact it is bad offense.
2.) Players watching their shot instead of picking up their defensive responsibilities. Once the shot leaves the stick there is nothing a player can do about it. Your team mates and the crowd will tell you if a goal was scored. Your only concern is the defensive end of things.
3.) The tape to tape pass has virtually disappeared.Nice to talk about speed but if a pass is in the area and the receiving player has to change pace or alter his arc to get the pass any advantages that extra speed may bring are lost.
4.) The deflection. Certain players used to master the art around the net, getting their stick on shots going wide and creating goals. Forced the defense to play wider and provided the point men with more options.
5.) The one-timer. Initially efficient but has become so commonplace and telegraphed that it is quickly becoming a liability since the defense is allowed to focus on a much narrower zone that has to be covered.
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.
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.
funny how you mentioned today's game...i'm pretty sure sidney crosby doesn't feel the same way. and neither do a lot of others. boring trap systems, no rivalries, and whistle after whistle. yup, today's game is much more appealing...to the media and soccer moms.
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.
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.
Last edited by Rhiessan71: 05-27-2011 at 11:19 PM.
I'm a bit late to the party, but I guess I have a short list:
1. Rivalries that mattered.
2. Nastiness that seemed fueled by the incident, moment, buildup, or rivalry more so than ego/pride like it seems to be today (scrums after every moderately hard hit... haaaaate).
3. Skating and passing through the neutral zone instead of clearances from the d-zone disguised as passes to the neutral zone that end up chipped in, and rarely chased with any intention (so glad they got rid of two line passes so we can watch those chip-ins instead ). I understand that the rink is the same size, yet players are bigger and faster, so I guess that's just something I'll have to deal with.
4. Occasional sustained dominance by teams that simply draft, sign, and develop better than other teams. I like modern parity on a night-to-night basis as a viewer, but I liked the mystique of "dynasty" teams, and the significance of beating one when it mattered. Having said all that, I do agree with the salary cap (despite being a fan of one of the richest teams: Montreal), so go figure.
5. Passing in general. Maybe players of yesteryear skated slower, and thus were easier to hit with passes, I dunno. But it frustrates me sometimes watching both the passing decisions (often trying to go through opponents instead of around them) AND execution. Seems like guys who can actually land a saucer pass flat on a teammate's stick are in short supply these days or something, despite ice surface maintenance making GIANT leaps forward around the league over the years.
6. Sticks that don't break every time you fart on them sideways or go to stick check an opponent. As someone who uses the newer sticks, I understand how they feel better to use, but then again I've never had to cover the point in a game that might mean millions of dollars for my club without a stick, because it shattered simply trying to lift an opponent's stick or battling for a loose puck 5 seconds earlier.
7. The backhand. Even after the wide-spread use of curved sticks, it seemed like many players were able to both pass and shoot with both sides of the blade. Now everyone seems to freak out whenever one of the few (Datsyuk, for example, Crosby another... can only 2 of the top 3 players in the league execute one consistently??) actually pulls something off with the backhand. I've always loved that Gordie Howe anecdote (I think it was him) about when he was asked about going out to practice with the "wrong-handed" stick, and he simply replied "does it matter?" Modern hockey players almost seem to approach their tool like field hockey these days, preferring to attempt a toe drag and fire a wrister through defenders instead of blitzing around them on the backhand and trying to fire the puck at the net that way. I understand how that kind of screen is hard for goalies to pick up sometimes, but at least SOMETIMES pretend like you're aware that the blade has two sides, for god's sake. I mean, not all defensemen play on their "natural" side these days (as defined by shooting hand, I guess), so why not try to take advantage of that more often?
edit: Canadiens1958 and canucksfan also bring up really good points.
Last edited by Ohashi_Jouzu: 05-28-2011 at 12:08 AM.
...even as a Flyers fan that was simply a awesome hit, maybe the best pure clean hit I've ever seen in Hockey
). I understand that the rink is the same size, yet players are bigger and faster, so I guess that's just something I'll have to deal with.
