When was it the most fun to watch NHL hockey?

[Seras]

for me roughly 89-02

 

[Albatros]

Peaked in the early 90s and tanked in the 2000s, has more or less plateaued now at a low level.

 

[Bounces R Way]

Only really remember a sliver of the 90s but loved me some Eric Lindros. Sakic, and Yzerman were awesome too. Know there's a lot of people that hated the dead puck era but the 1999-2010 period had some great players and a ton of tough bloody hockey. Other than that shit lockout I thought it was real good.

Each era has its own merits. I wish there was a little more hate in it but the players in today's NHL are incredibly advanced at the game. Hockey(like all pro sports) is a game with an insane skillcap. Maybe I'm naive to some of the other eras but I do think this is a golden age for pure talent.

 

[biturbo19]

Only really remember a sliver of the 90s but loved me some Eric Lindros. Sakic, and Yzerman were awesome too. Know there's a lot of people that hated the dead puck era but the 1999-2010 period had some great players and a ton of tough bloody hockey. Other than that shit lockout I thought it was real good.

Each era has its own merits. I wish there was a little more hate in it but the players in today's NHL are incredibly advanced at the game. Hockey(like all pro sports) is a game with an insane skillcap. Maybe I'm naive to some of the other eras but I do think this is a golden age for pure talent.

I don't think there's any doubt that today is the "Best Hockey" that's been played. Pretty much everyone is so fit, so fast, and so invested in the details of the game, and with equipment that just enhances that to a ridiculous level. The skill floor is insanely high, and the ceiling is through the roof.


But...I think that's an entirely different question from "most fun to watch NHL hockey". There's a lot of the creativity, individuality, and just rawness coached and distilled out of the game today. It's "better hockey" but sometimes "worse hockey" is a lot more fun. In the same sense that everyone loves the World Juniors every year. There's a sweet spot there where the skill on display is extremely high, the passion and energy is high, but it's not coached and analyzed and sanitized to death.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

As a Blackhawks fan it's easy to say 2010-19 but as a hockey fan in general I think the 90's were a blast.

 

[the_fan]

I’ve seen my team (Avs) win the cup in the 96, 2001, 2022, for me most fun was the 90s for sure. The games were so intense back then

 

[Kingfan1967]

The 70's when "I went to the fights and a Hockey game broke out" joke was true, the
Big Bad Bruins and Broad Street Bullies ruled the Ice. Bench clearing brawls with no ejections, the NHL was closer to "Slap Shot" than the "Ice Capades". Helmets were optional as were Goalie facemasks. Hockey became so popular another league was formed (The WHA). Good times we'll never see again.

 

[Lt Dan]

Early 90's until about the trap went league wide

 

[eXile3]

Early, mid 90s. Scoring was still super high and the physicality was still there.

Wings - Avalanche rivalry. Pens were crazy good.

 

[drktmplr12]

Panthers fan

Right now

 

[BraveCanadian]

Early-mid 90s

Game was likely at its peak talent wise and wasn’t quite so commercialized yet.

 

[LevelingSolo]

2005-2012 was bomb

Should be clear I was not following the NHL prior to 05

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

The 70's when "I went to the fights and a Hockey game broke out" joke was true, the
Big Bad Bruins and Broad Street Bullies ruled the Ice. Bench clearing brawls with no ejections, the NHL was closer to "Slap Shot" than the "Ice Capades". Helmets were optional as were Goalie facemasks. Hockey became so popular another league was formed (The WHA). Good times we'll never see again.

Very strange thing, in that case, that the Canadiens won 6 of the 10 Cups awarded in that decade...

They must not have read the memo.

 

[HeadLiceHatty]

90's growing up Flyers were always a contender for the most part, Hockey was nowhere as soft as it is today, a true joy to watch.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

When I was 15

 

[hangman005]

The 22-23 playoffs.

 

[Kingfan1967]

Very strange thing, in that case, that the Canadiens won 6 of the 10 Cups awarded in that decade...

They must not have read the memo.

Montreal winning didn't grow the game like the physical teams did. (it was also to point out that the 70's wasn't an option)

 

[Master P]

90's AINEC

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

From the 2006 lockout to about just after the 2013 lockout. Scoring dipped in the mid-2010s and it just wasn't that fun.

Post-2005, you still had some older legends like Sakic, Lidstrom, Forsberg, Kariya, Selanne, etc. who were passed their primes but still impactful players.

 

[Spawn]

The stars from the 90s just had a certain larger than life quality to them that the stars from today don’t. Admittedly that might just be because I grew up in the 90s.

 

[Voight]

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.

Plus those playoff battles between NJ/Philly, COL/DET/DAL etc were freaking awesome.

 

[Michel Beauchamp]

Montreal winning didn't grow the game like the physical teams did. (it was also to point out that the 70's wasn't an option)

But "other" was, n'est-ce pas ?

 

[Ralph Malfredsson]

man it's when you are a kid

rooting for your favourite team, who you learned from your dad what your favourite team, not really understanding why but knowing that them winning is the most important thing in the world

you'll always have rose tinted glasses for then

for me that was the 80s

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

2010-12

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

The 90’s