When was it the most fun to watch NHL hockey?

[Janvonpobben]

When did you enjoy it the most

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[Midnight Judges]

The Capitals had more wins than any other team from '09-10 to '19-20, plus a Stanley Cup win. So yeah that's going to be my answer.

 

[Montreal Shadow]

Objectively, the last truly great NHL season was the 92-93 one.

Don't ask me why. I just know.

 

[DitchMarner]

1994-1999, 2004-2010, 2017 to now.

I was still invested from 2014 to 2016, but that was the most boring period I've experienced. Not only did the Leafs suck, the scoring race competition wasn't very exciting and the style of play was quite dull.

 

[PavelBure10]

90's for me. Gretzky and Lemieux were in their primes. Add in other superstars all putting up massive points. Yzerman, Sakic, Hull, Jagr, Messier, Selanne, Fedorov, Bure, Forsberg, I could go on and on. Add in some of the best goalies to ever play the game, Roy, Hasek and Brodeur. Aswell as some amazing defenseman Bourque, Coffey, Lidstrom. So much fun to watch, so much enjoyment watching so many superstars and the games greatest players all playing in their primes. 90's hockey was a blast.

 

[Idiot Stick]

right now was pretty cool

 

[tabness]

90s ainefc

 

[Minnesota Knudsens]

Hockey was amazing before the DPE, but especially loved 80s hockey. Those huge rivalries created by the divisional system back then have rarely been replicated since. Height of the BOA and BOQ. High scoring and before big money ruined the game. Gretzky and Lemieux together at the Canada Cup was a massive moment. Maybe biased though because I was a kid, and everything seemed magical back then.

 

[JoVel]

2004, 2020 and 2021.

 

[Dog]

90s nothing beat the Avalanche vs Wings rivalry!

 

[nowhereman]

Loved the 90s and also the post-lockout, Sid vs. OV years (with the added bonus of my favorite team making the Finals in 2011).

 

[Hamilton Bulldogs]

1936

 

[centipede2233]

90’s, loved getting don cherry’s rockem sockem VHS tape for Christmas!

 

[Desert Panther]

(Almost) No playoffs during that decade for my Panthers, but I voted 00-09. Specifically the first few seasons coming out of the lockout with the initial crackdown on obstruction.

 

[EdJovanovski]

I’ll say early 90’s though I wasn’t alive yet

 

[GreeningOil]

When my team is good

 

[bambamcam4ever]

05-10, the game was really good when the NHL enforced interference.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

1965 - 1979.

10 Cups in 15 years, the first one when I was 15...

 

[Hisch13r]

Hockey is currently the best it’s ever been. Go back and watch old games. It’s awful.

 

[JPeeper]

2004 playoffs

 

[Crow]

So easy to be biased toward 2010-2019 as primarily a hawks fan.

When my team is good

Basically

 

[Erik Alfredsson]

Had the most fun watching prime Erik Karlsson on the Sens, he was always a blast to watch.

 

[SmoggyTwinkles]

When did you enjoy it the most

Very age dependent for me.

I didn't get to pick my exact most joyous time watching hockey but it was maybe 1998 until pre-lockout so what, 2004 or something?

Those were good times, but I was also younger.

Now I am old and bitter about wasting my time on this crap. I've got better things to do

 

[biturbo19]

90's for me. Gretzky and Lemieux were in their primes. Add in other superstars all putting up massive points. Yzerman, Sakic, Hull, Jagr, Messier, Selanne, Fedorov, Bure, Forsberg, I could go on and on. Add in some of the best goalies to ever play the game, Roy, Hasek and Brodeur. Aswell as some amazing defenseman Bourque, Coffey, Lidstrom. So much fun to watch, so much enjoyment watching so many superstars and the games greatest players all playing in their primes. 90's hockey was a blast.

It's not even just that there were all these superstars putting up massive points, it was that they all seemed to unique and exciting in completely different ways. And it was an era where a lot more of that "individuality" was still allowed to shine through. Before systems regimented a lot of that away, even for the superstars.


And that's not even talking about the goaltenders, where that was really the golden age. Again, like with the skaters...there were just so many incredible, exciting, unique goaltenders performing at a high level...but getting it done in some many completely different ways. There was a real hodgepodge of styles and unique "quirks" and flair that we haven't seen since. You could put any of those star goalies in a generic uniform and still immediately know who it was. That was special. And then they went and made it more special, and more enjoyable by doing the opposite of generic uniforms...with building their "identity" into their signature masks as well, when the design on that artform was at it's high water mark as well.


Just a great time for hockey. It's certainly "better" today in a lot of ways. But when was it most fun? Easily the 90s.

 

[LemonSauceD]

90’s hockey till about 01. Then 06-10. Then 2016-2020. And now 2023 to present.

From late 2015 till right up to Covid, it seemed like many players were emerging right from the gate as star players. Between 2016-2020, guys like Panarin coming from Russia, Matthews, McDavid, Laine, Tkachuk, Keller, McAvoy, the Barzal vs Boeser Calder race (Barzal w/ 85 points as a rookie was insane), the 2017 draft featuring Makar, Pettersson, Hischier, Heiskanen. Then Q. Hughes vs Makar, Brady Tkachuk, Dahlin with guys like Kucherov, Mackinnon, Draisaitl, Barkov, Pastrnak, Hedman, Karlsson, Burns, Pietrangelo, Point, Josi, Marchand, etc taking a bit longer to get there but ultimately becoming elite stars of this league.

2020-2022 was boring because of the lockout and not many new players emerged other than Fox really.

But starting 2022, guys like Jack Hughes, Kaprizov, Robertson, Suzuki, Bouchard, Stutzle etc, the rest of the draftees from that 2015-2020 period, finally coming along.

We’ve got a really strong foundation of talent in this league right now because of 2015-2020. From 2020-2022 it was pretty weak in terms of talent drafted and not many stars have come out from this period. Right now, the talent level is as high as it’s ever been and will continue to grow with the likes of Bedard/Celebrini/Michkov/Carlsson/Fantilli/Smith/Demidov etc around the corner and with a couple more deep drafts coming up.

Right now, hockey should be entering a decade of excitement and I think in the future, looking back, 2023-2033 will be one of the best decades in hockey. Poor goalies.