The quality of play in professional hockey has improved over the last 25 years — roughly the period time that has elapsed since Wayne Gretzky retired — in every way that you can measure objectively. Gretzky himself even said recently (only half-jokingly) that he would have had a hard time making it to the NHL in 1979 if he had to compete against today’s players.
What HAS changed is that the game has lost a lot of its character as it has become more refined and “over-coached” the way it is — and also because its storied history has been downplayed in an attempt to market the game to casual fans.
all the teams look the same...all the teams play the same way...all the teams play a variation of the neutral zone trap, which started about “25” years ago...hmmm, right around the time the New Jersey Devils beat a very heavy favorite Detroit team in the 1995 Final 4-0, using that very same type defensive “system..where the wingers (are they even called that anymore?) are actually told not to try and score but to be more defensive. All teams do now is just dump the puck into the others team zone...over and over and over..hoping they get the “bounce” that creates a scoring chance. No creativity...no skill. You actually had a FIRST YEAR EXPANSION TEAM make it to the Stanley Cup Final...that about explains everything about today’s “game”. Recently saw Mark Messier in a commercial trying to say the the NHL is “better than ever”...when you actually have to make a commercial pushing that, you got a problem. Gretzky, Messier etc would NEVER bad mouth the league. Anyway, the ghost of the 80’s and 90’s hangs over this league so bad...to go from seeing such astonishing players to what passes as hockey now is flat out just strange. And they did it to themselves....sad.