Do you think that the recent NHL rule changes have made the skilled big players a thing of the past?

Question

The new rules help guys the Crosby, and St. Louis while they make it it pretty tough for the larger players (who were in abundance in the 1990's). Guys like Todd Bertuzzi, Eric Lindros, Brendan Shanahan, and defenseman like the Hatchers, who were coveted in the past, seem to be a dying breed. What do you think?

Answer 1

I totally agree. The game is built more for speed now. I also grew up watching Lindros, Messier and even lemeiux.. Unfortunately, i believe that after the strike season, the NHL needed to make the game higher scoring and at a faster pace to ensure people's rear-ends in the seats.

Answer 2

Yes, you are totally right. The new rules NHL is made with roller hockey in mind, I wouldn't be surprised if stopping was made illegal, so those big swirly circles made their way into ice hockey. Hockey isn't the same anymore, and it is trickeling down into youth hockey too. At the beginning of our High School Hockey season, they decided to honor the USA hockey decision to also use the new rules, and there were so many penalties the game was really boring, and all it caused was even more hatred for the officials. Thankfully, by the end of the season, the refs had reverted back to their old ways, but a few were still hardcore new rules fanatics, and an occasional game would get to that coveted 15 penalty mark, and send the coach off the bench for the next game. I don't like how the body is being used less and less. they say that you can still play physical, but that doesn't help. If they want good goals, then let the d do whatever they want. Instead of these garbage goals that come when the defense can't defend the net due to the new rules, make it harder for the goal scores, so that when they do score, they earn it by dipping under a feroucious hit, jumping over a stick check, swerving around a hip check, deking past the goalies poke check, and getting off a sweet wrister into the top corner nocking the goalies waterbottle into the air, and soaring with it as the d-man trips you for scoring, starting a bench clearing brawl that eventually leads to a few players jumping the glass, and ends with one player beating a fan with their own shoe. Now that would be earning a goal, and probably get some great ratings too. Hockey just isn't the same anymore, and I miss it.

Answer 3

No, the rule changes have not made those players obsolete but it did change emphasis to skill rather than just size. During the clutch and grab era, players were able to get by just on being large. While this has created more opportunity for smaller players, the fact still remains that if a team has the choice of two players with the same skill set, they are going to take the bigger player. What we are likely to see is a trend back towards the tough guys being able to play more. Perhaps we may see someone along the lines of a Bob Probert, one of the toughest and most physical players in the history of the game along with the skills to be very good hockey player to boot.

RockStar: The new NHL standard, along with the standard adopted by USA Hockey, is intended to increase body contact not decrease it. What it has eliminated at the NHL level is the stick work and the clutch and grab therefore the only thing left to use to stop your opponent is a clean body check. I disagree with the way that USAH went about adopting the standard, as USAH officials, we do not have the feedback, training and support that the NHL officials have which I think was the bigger problem. Believe me, I am a whistle in the pocket, tit for tat type of official and personally I would prefer to have the flexibility to call the game based on the way it is being played. I agree that many officials loosened their standard as the season wore on but that will hurt you as a player in the long run. The NCAA and ACHA both have the stringent standard along with all levels of hockey above that. If you cannot adopt to that in HS, you will struggle even more as you move up the ladder.

Answer 4

First to all those who said strike it was a lock out strikes are when players refuse to play lockouts are when the owners refuse to let them.

I think the NHL has hurt big slow guys, the clutch and grab hook and hold guys. I only imagine what the likes of Mario Lemieux and even Eric Lindros would have done if allowed the free space of today's NHL in their prime and not be forced to have an AHL call up covering their jersey. The problem is in the 90s the NHL introduced too many teams too quickly as a result the league was filled with people simply there to fill up roster spots. These players had to cheat (hook, hold, slash, etc) and coaches had to adopt systems to stop the clearly more talented players. Shanahan and Lindros had skill (now they are over the hill) and would be even more productive in today's NHL.

Answer 5

Well I wouldn't say big men are no longer coveted. But the big men must now be able to play the style of the crosbys and ovechkins. However, I wouldn't say they are gone considering at this years draft the talk was about the size of these players. I know guys are no longer mid 200s but they still want guys with good size. Plus if you look at the ducks, which I hate with a passion, they had a lot of big men that were there to shut down other teams. So I believe they are still needed just they have to do other things than Lindros, and Shanahan did.

Answer 6

thrilling yet i do no longer likely like it. What happens whilst the goalie freezes the %.. can we've a face-off returned in the previous the penalty starts. what's going to finally end up going on because of the fact the already penalized team will take a 2nd penalty at circumstances and then its 6-4. it could paintings yet would be a difficulty for the officers as you properly understand. If the purpose is greater desirable scoring on the PP why no longer make communities serve the finished 2 minutes no depend if the PP team scores or no longer. Like a significant penalty at present, the finished penalty would could be served, in actuality previously whilst that replaced into the guideline until the Habs of old have been given too effecient on the PP. comparable result yet no actual variations to officiating or how the activity is performed. As an aside did you notice Ottawa practically placed it of their very own internet against Boston on a not on time penalty Saturday night.

Answer 7

Listen...I used to play hockey for 8 years...I played "A" travel and my team took 3rd In the NYS Championships at the peewee (ages 12-13). I played defense and was the biggest guy on my team. All i have to say is hitting is not everything. Yes hitting is a part of the game but sometimes a poke check or just simply being faster than a guy is much more effective. If you want to watch a game where people beat eachother up watch boxing. I do agree with most of the new rules accept for the limitations to the golies. Also if there is a skilled big guy, then it shouldn't matter because he has skill. I really want to drive home that hockey is not about hitting. Hockey is about putting the puck in the net. I also want to point out that when hockey was started....i mean way back...it was based on speed and stick skills...so actually the nhl is going back to the roots of the game.

Answer 8

it opened the game up for the smaller guys but, in my opinion, still left the door open for bigger skill guys. size is still important and strength, although maybe not quite as important from a defensive standpoint, is still just as important offensively. there will always be a spot on a team for a guy (or 6 guys) who can drive through someone and take it to the net, or bring the pucks out of the corners, or stop the opposing team from doing those things. the big guys of the new nhl do need to be better skaters than before, though, to move through open ice.

Answer 9

There will never be an end for big skilled men come-on...Now there is just a little bit more of a chance for smaller guys that's all...For every Fleury threes 1000 guys just as skilled who never had a chance just cause they were 5-8 to 5-10.

Allot of them would have been better than the bigger guys if they hada chance. Now they do.

Answer 10

I would agree with that. I used to love the NHL before the strike. There was nothing more exciting than seeing Lindros crash someone into the boards. The new NHL rules suck. They took the physicality (is that a word?) out of the sport. It would be similiar to the NFL making it illegal to tackle someone.