Agree or disagree?

Question

Hockey is now a young man's game. Moreso than any era by far.

Money definitely plays a role now. It was insane that all the money went to old UFA who were past their prime-something I like about the new system indeed.

Jenni- No, but LITY tells me he handled himself very well. If you come across a link to it, be sure too let me know. I am bored this evening, my wife is still in Onterrible, she is at the Leafs game tonight (Boston I think) so I may call up some friends and go out for a pop or two. Wanna come?

Yeah, I know some old guys are still playing, but the young guys seem to excel more nowadays.
I guess back in the day, many guys didn't even crack a line-up until they toiled in the minors for a few years.

Snoop- But then we'll be talking about the Tavares' and another Staal etc.
If we look at the stats, there are an awful lot of guys under 25 years old in the top 50 scoring, more than I can ever remember.

Even Detroit's two youngest players are relatively young- Zetterberg and Datsyuk. New era indeed, gone are the days of Yzerman, Sakic, Gretz, Lemiuex, even Jagr who dominated as +30 year olds.
Young guys have taken over. Cripes, a 19 year old won the scoring race last year.
Good point about all the retirees. Alot of older guys still playing probably should retire- Recchi, Roberts, Hasek etc.

LITY - Thanx for the mention of Roenick and Modano- Not long ago these guys dominated. I agree about Linden.

LITY- Add Briere to that list of descending salaries- he makes 3 million and 2 million in the final 2 years of the deal. Pay them for their prime years, not for what they were.

Moose- Dmen certainly last longer and I think Cheios is still contributing. I question how much Hasek has left in the tank nowadays though. Osgood has all but taken his job.

Answer 1

My DiPenta 'question' was removed by Yahoo. Grrrrrr

Two Points
1. Trevor Linden is a skating dinosaur and has been since the lockout. Everytime I watch a Vancouver game I am reminded that loyalty can indeed destroy a team. I know there were comments earlier this year about Modano, and in the summer about Roenick, but those guys are contributing far more than Linden has. I know there are people who call him Mr. Canuck and that he'll end up in a front office role, but cut Linden loose!

2. One of the things I noticed this past summer was that some of the youngsters received contracts that paid them on an escalating course (Penner, Hatnell, Timonen) and other players were paid on a descending course (Smyth, Blake). It seems to me that GMs around the league have finally realized when a player's prime is (Note: I realize that whether a contract is ascending or descending the average is what counts against the cap - but there is more to it than that).

I do agree that this is a young man's game more than at any other time in NHL history. Sadly, I think the lockout killed a lot of players. AHL rules only permitted so many 'NHLers' to play, and there are only so many positions available in Europe. For the Francis', Messiers, MacInnis' and Stevens' of the world that was a lot to come back from (Now that I think about it - I think Scott was retiring either way in 2004). Dave Andreychuk found out the hard way when Feaster called him into the office 20 games in and told him he was the slowest guy in the league (and at 40 - he probably was).

There's a lot of talk about speed now (and right now I'm watching the Wild and Blue Jackets - and no speed in sight) and if a player doesn't have it. He's not playing a regular shift. So, a youngster with speed will get his chance (unless your name is Sakic) and that help explains the plethora of players under 25 among the scoring leaders.

So Bob - put me down as agreeing.


Moose - goalies and D-men can play forever. For forwards it's a different story.

Answer 2

I completely agree.. Hockey isnt even hockey anymore...

I mean don't get me wrong I love hockey... But it's not the same.. Bobby Orr. Gordie Howe. you know which Im talking about .. older hockey where it wasn't all about the money ... but for the love of the game...

It's ridiculous how players are paid now then before.

But it seems all the teams are looking for "new meat" Like last year Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin... 2 Good hockey players.. teenagers, put in the NHL .. their fame lasted a year and you barely hear of them anymore...

I say all the teams are looking for a bit more to promote their teams rather than to actually win. It's not only having the newest and hardest playing teenagers... but to have a young player... teach them the skills and the tricks of the trade.. then they are ready to play a real mans game.

If the leafs took a hint maybe they could do soemthing and maybe atleast end up in the playoffs... wouldn't that be nice for you leaf fans?

Have a young team...start off fresh.. and by the time every other team's players are ready to retire... you have yourself a nice strong team full of young players... that were taught when no one else ever took a thought in the matter...

But i agree Hockey is turning out to be a young mans game...

Answer 3

Agree. Except for the Red Wings. Which makes me wonder; why haven't more teams tried to keep all their old guys? It seems to work well for Detroit. Why does no one else do it?

~

Lol Bob, just a couple weeks ago you were praising Hasek as the 2nd best goalie in the NHL as voted by NHL GMs and scouts. Now you question if he has any left in the tank? Bad time to start doubting him, he did have a shutout last night.

Answer 4

I believe that a team needs to be youthful in order to be successful, but they also need some experienced guys for leadership.

Look at last year's Anaheim team for example. Mostly young guys but had Niedermayer, Selanne and Pronger to lead the way.

Also look at Carolina the year before. Again mostly young guys but they also had Brindamour, Weight and Recchi.

Answer 5

Agree. The National Hockey League is changing and that is a no brainer. Just as the economy is whirling around, so is our game. And it has been, ever so slightly while we watch our game. I'd like to see the old time hockey, the true time hockey; where players were actually most to all professional hockey players.

Answer 6

Don't tell that to Chris Chelios or Dom Hasek.

I disagree. If you got the physical condition you can play. Chelios keeps in great shape. So does Hasek. Thats why they can still play. Anyone who retires early its to spend time with there family or for health reasons.

Your only as old as you feel.

Answer 7

I agree with Puck 99%..
So the only thing I would add would be the fact all the elite teams have some older guy who has been there and is guiding the team in some sort of "father figure " type role..

Answer 8

I'd agree and it's not just the speed of the game that has brought this about either. I think the money issue (cap) is a huge influence in this trend. Clubs are spending their money on players who will be around for a while and cost less instead of older guys who cost more and have high mileage on them. I think as a result of this change in economic thinking we will see very few guys play 20 seasons in the future.

Answer 9

Yeah, I totally agree. Gordie Howe played until he was close to fifty, I think, and Chelios is trying to repeat that performance without any luck. Even if Howe played until he was fifty tomorrow, he wouldn't be able to keep up. I think you will get the odd player like Hasek who will defy all expectations though.

Answer 10

Agree.

I thought Trevor Linden was going through what Recchi's been going through, actually. That might not turn out to be the case, in the end, but still... It does seem like older players are finding it harder to "fit in" these days.

......Yet somehow...... Derian Hatcher is still playing??
(Lol, I couldn't resist.)