It has nothing to do with size .. The nhl will one become a no hit league... The point of the thread is the physicality in the league is going..
Started with the visors
The big equipment from fear of injury
Instigator rule
Then the no clutching and no interference to the neutral zone
Then the open ice hit was gone. You will never see no Scott Stevens type hits ever
Then it was no hitting from behind and they had to introduce that because so the players can turn their backs and stop contact.
Then the head shots.. No more shoulder to head.. Every big hit since the 80's includes a shoulder to the head. Look it up on YouTube and you will hear them describe it as great clean hits
ugg, a leaf fan. Alright, let's deal with this step at a time.
The no hit league. Plenty of hits, the problem is that size and speed has increased yet our ability to absorb those hits has not. Therefore, more injuries and head trauma. As far as physicality goes, it all depends on your opinion on where the game should head. There are two camps: one is filled with knuckle dragging Walmart mouth breathers who want the NHL to look like the UFC on ice while the other is filled with long time fans who played the game and want speed and skill to dictate wins. While I'm in the "speed and skill" camp, it doesn't mean there can't be toughness, but I'll get to that.
The visors, well, you have to understand that players in the old NHL were nothing but chattel and treated as such. They were poorly paid and no care was given to their well being. As salaries rose, owners moved to protect their investment. Players, too, moved to protect their livelyhood. It's like calling someone who works high steel a pussy for wearing a harness when working 40 floors up.
Fear of injury, see previous paragraph. It depends on your ability to understand, though I'll break it down further. If you have a good job that you enjoy, you try and mitigate the danger to your ability to earn the best you can so you can keep earning and keep doing your job. Hockey at the highest level is a job and hard work. Meet up with any long time player a few years after they've left the game and you'll see very few were lucky enough to escape the game without a long term injury that inhibits their life. Sure, it's great to play the game, but if you leave it at the age of 35 what good was the game to you if it leaves you with a broken body?
Instigator rule, meh, I think it should only be called when one of the combatants is unwilling.
Clutching and grabbing. This is difficult for me to understand as a life long fan. The game's high point was the 80's when there wasn't as much clutching and grabbing. It was an awesome sight to watch. The game from the mid 90's to 2004 was absolutely boring. Nowhere in the NHL rulebook is clutching and grabbing condoned and yet it was allowed. Those that want it back do so because the team they cheer for are built on "truculence". Even the dumbest Leaf fan (and there's plenty of them) would agree that it is much more enjoyable to watch Phil Kessel streak down the rink with the puck than to watch Colton Orr (or whatever) clutch and grab.
Plenty of open ice hits, but, without the clutching and grabbing, it is much harder to find your target when you go headhunting. Defensemen that do so, Dion Phaneuf comes to mind, leave space unattended to be exploited by the opposition. In a way, the lack of open ice hits you speak of has more to do with coaches who demand accountability from their defensemen. Scott Stevens, in today's game, would get raped defensively if he played the exact same way.
Hitting from behind, I'm of two minds there; players turn their backs to avoid the hit now in hopes of drawing a penalty. Refs are put in a tough spot there.
Hits to the head. I get what you are saying but we know a lot more about the effects of these hits now. And, as players are paid millions of dollars, the last thing players and owners want it to miss huge gobs of time due to the effects of a concussion. Sure, they could play through it like the old days, but in the old days your career was half the time it is now. Ever meet a player from the 60's and 70's?
If you are one that enjoys watching men break their bodies for your enjoyment then you'd love a return to the NHL of '95 to 2004; slow plodding affairs where some hockey might breakout amongst the clutching, grabbing, and fighting.
If you are a fan of the game of hockey and enjoy playing it, then you'll prefer a return to 80's style firewagon hockey.
The game today is caught in between the two. I don't mind it, I think refs have allowed some cluthing and grabbing to creep back into the game but it's still entertaining.
