04/20/24
May 27, 2011
Hockey Then and Now: In a recent New Yorker, Adam Gopnik dwells on the Habs. Two things caught the more disinterested eye of the post-Habs playoff-watcher. First, how much hockey really has changed in the past fifteen or so years—and though the changes aren’t entirely to my liking, their cause is: they’re all a function of ever-increasing skill and broad-based excellence. To watch highlights of Cups past, from the sixties and seventies, is to see awkwardly upright goalies waving their sticks apologetically at passing pucks; the perfection of the butterfly style now means that getting a goal is hard, and damn near impossible from a distance. This produces both the decreased scoring of this hockey epoch, and the ugly habit of playing “North-South” hockey, banging the net and basically trying to ram the puck home under or over a helpless goalie after a bad rebound from six inches away.
I've been saying the same thing about goalies for years now.
If you dropped in-his-prime Brodeur into the 1940-1970 era of hockey, he would be just as dominating (if not more). He'd easily turn away all the blue-line slap shots, plus he'd also completely confound the dump-and-chase with his puck handling (and no limitations on where to play the puck). I propose that he would have radically altered how goalies played and changed the game, much like how Bobby Orr changed the game (and defensemen) for good.
The only limitation would be the equipment. If he had to wear the stuff they had back then, he might not be as fearless. Then again, the shots won't be as hard...
In the same thought, if you brought in-his-prime Dryden/Plante into the 2010 season, they'd flounder. The equipment might be bigger/lighter, but they'd get beat by the faster shots and crease-jamming (since they wouldn't be in the butterfly to cover the bottom of the net).
As much as I respect the players of old, the modern game is simply stocked with much more talent than at any time in the history of the game.
posted by grum@work at 02:36 PM on May 27, 2011
To watch highlights of Cups past, from the sixties and seventies, is to see awkwardly upright goalies waving their sticks apologetically at passing pucks;
I love this line. I can envision that style of play in my mind right now.
posted by NoMich at 03:03 PM on May 27, 2011
The "old game" of the pre-Orr era bore almost no resemblance to what is now seen. In those days the defense stood at the blue line and forced the puck carrier to either dump or go wide. Centers back-checked, coming in behind the defensemen to retrieve the loose puck or to pick up the attacker along the boards or behind the net. Then Orr showed everyone what a fast and powerful skater could do by carrying the puck himself. The game began to change. Perhaps the rule change that has done more to open up the game than any other is the elimination of the 2-line pass rule. This gave hockey the equivalent of the basketball fast break.
Every once in a while I hear someone say something about the "stand-up goaltender". The evolution of the mask has encouraged the goaltender to go down to block the lower part of the goal, and the butterfly style emerged from its cocoon (pun intended) as a natural evolution. If you take away the mask, the stand-up style would be back, and the goaltenders' union would go out on strike. In other words, it ain't gonna happen.
I must disagree with the author's characterization of Boston fans as racist. Their booing of Subban stems from the Montreal fans booing of Chara, or whoever is their target. In hockey terms, the phrase "Montreal sportsman" is an oxymoron. Racism in Boston has almost disappeared (finally and thankfully), but the reputation lingers. When it comes to color, Bruins fans react negatively not to black, but to bleu, blanc, et rouge.
posted by Howard_T at 03:47 PM on May 27, 2011
The writer is correct, there is nothing in all of sports to match the drama of sudden death overtime hockey.