Imagine being the kind of hardcore fan who has an HFBoards account and still answering 1 to this question.
It isn't at all what it once was.
A very reactionary league with rule changes.
Doing it's best to turn the league into 31 Toronto's (no offense intended) - soft, speed, skill with no animosity or emotion.
Less chance of insulting the very vocal anti toughness/hitting/fighting crowd that way....
Coach challenges are a disgrace as well.
Leave challenges to the league only if something is blatant.
Questionable scheduling. Arizona vs Boston twice... or more divisional games?
Few rivalries.
Officiating is a significant issue with the game management factor. Softer penalties than ever for artificial boost in PP offense with more embellishment and players dropping lightly tapped sticks to draw slashing calls. Counteracting negated goals from millimeter offside plays minutes before highlight reel goals.
Condemnable playoff format vs 1-8.
3v3 not what it could have been as coaches have a stranglehold on it. Outside of a mistake by a player the constant regroup at center for possession is tiresome and predictable.
It is the highest level of the sport we love however. A tough pill to swallow.
Even though I watch 2-3 games a night it's a soft 6 for me.
There's tons of speed and skill in today's game but it gets so stifled by coaching and systems. There's barely any room out there to make plays. So much dump and change, dump it out, dump it over there, dump it over here. Barely any physicality, one soft penalty after another. Too many offside and icing calls.
I've said this a million times but I think if you widen the rink 5-6 feet you could have a much better flowing product rather than the dump and muck for 40 seconds circle the wagons BS.
Imagine being the kind of hardcore fan who has an HFBoards account and still answering 1 to this question.
About a 5. NFL absorbed alot of my attention during the last lockout and their product is just great overall...plus all these damn "blackouts" make me not even bother to try any game listed on the menu unless it's my team bc 9 out of 10 times its blacked out in my region
This.Between 7-8 for me.
I absolutely love the speed and skill of the game. However I really think we’re missing the nastiness and physicality of hockey.
I thought the mid 90s was probably the best era from a fan entertainment perspective. You had it all. Speed, skill, physicality, fighting, true rivals who ****ing hated each other, etc.
I’m not talking staged fights I’m talking more emotions and passions during the game is needed. Hockey is better with hate. Having that, the game is more skilled than it’s ever been top to bottom. I mean the things these guys pull off on a nightly basis is jaw dropping.
I voted 5. Maybe it's just me being nostalgic, but I feel like games were more intense 10-15 years ago. I think it's due to that era having more grinders and rugged defensemen. In today's game, the average 3rd and 4th liner has better hands, but are also prone to float around more. I like skill, but I also like players battling hard.
I disagree, watching basketball is like watching paint dry.Entertainment wise the NHL is behind the NFL & NBA. That is fact, not opinion.