Quote Originally Posted by DetroitSoldier View Post
That is an interesting take. The game is much more open and athletic now than it was 10-15 years ago. That seems to be the draw for many. But to each their own.
Its more open because you can’t finish your check anymore. You used to be deemed in possession of the puck until someone else gained possession so you could still be hit. Now as soon as you dump it in the defenseman has to step out of the way as the player speeds by, then bakes the defensemans partner into the seamless glass that doesn’t move. And they wonder why there are so many concussions. As far as being more athletic I’d say Yzerman, Gretzky, Lemieux et al were very athletic. Maybe more so as nobody had to get out of their way so they could skate by. They had to fight through checks or make deceptive moves which was a real skill.

The games now more north south as opposed to east west. Used to be more flow as forwards came back into defensive zone to break out as a unit. Now its defenseman firing the puck to the other blueline where his forward tips it into the attacking zone. They moved the blue lines out 4 feet which even Scotty Bowman said was a big mistake. Still a great game but I’ll take Yzermans playing days over now.