The Biggest Change in the NHL
Photo Credit: The Athletic
For years the NHL has been under constant scrutiny for “not being as good as it once was”. It’s the same arguments being made over and over again. “I miss when hockey was physical,” and “I miss when the NHL was fun to watch,” are among the most popular. So are those statements true? After all, it is pretty easy to see that the NHL is focused more on skill than it is physicality at the moment.
Isn’t that what people want? Skill makes hockey more “fun”, especially in today’s era of the NHL, where some of the most skilled skaters of all time are playing against one another on a nightly basis. With that being said, one change that people haven’t quite picked up on yet is the amount of point scoring in the NHL, which is a direct correlation to a more skill-heavy league.
Just take a look at the top scorers as of Mar. 23:
Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning - 124 points
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche - 123 points
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers - 119 points
Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers - 102 points
David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins - 101 points
Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche - 97 points
William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs - 94 points
Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers - 93 points
Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs - 93 points
J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks - 91 points
Five players with 100+ points, and more players soon to join that list; something insane to think about. That’s where the NHL stands in its skillset among its players. Last season the NHL featured 11 players with over 100 points in the regular season, and this year looks to be more or less the same number. The season before that one, two years ago (21-22), had eight players with over 100 points.
Looking at the trajectory of certain players’ points this season, 2024 will produce seven to 10 players over the century mark. That would make for three straight seasons with seven players or more reaching 100 points. It’s easy to throw numbers out there, but the last time more than seven players had triple digit points was the 1995-96 season; close to thirty years ago. The last time that the NHL saw three straight seasons of that production was during the span of 1991-94.
Photo Credit: USA Today
The truth is that the NHL has shifted its focus in terms of what its players bring to the table. Sure, there are plenty of guys out there who still present themselves as “enforcers”, but it’s a rarity. Otherwise, players are more skilled than anyone could’ve imagined. Blame it on development, or blame it on a new age of sports, but nobody can deny that hockey has been getting more exciting as the years go on.
This is an offensive-minded league, and it is time for people to get with the times. Household names such as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, are turning into Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. More and more skaters are reaching a level of skill that the league has not seen since the late 80s, and early 90s; and people should be all for it.
Photo Credit: Curtis Comeau / Icon Sportswire
So the next time someone says that they miss when hockey was more exciting, maybe they’re already missing out on the best possible hockey that they’re ever going to see. Better yet, maybe this is just a tiny shift towards an entirely new NHL; one that is going to be even more skilled than the one now.
It’s all a big waiting game to see what the next era of hockey brings. For now, everyone just needs to enjoy the current era, for its newfound skill which will bring a lifetime of memories.