AMinnes

1. Jaques Lemaire, and the Trap.
In 1994-95 the world watched as the mighty Red Wings were beaten, in 4 straight no less, to the defense first Devils. The most boring, aweful playoff series or final I think ever saw, but it worked. Suddenly teams that lacked talent felt they could win. I'm not saying they weren't talented, I'm saying they were less talented than Detroit, and had they played old time run-and-gun they would have surely lost.

Since then many teams have found a good goalie and trapped their way into the playoffs, even deep, and it will never go away as long as it works.

2. Goalies are better and bigger.
The butterfly system of gaoltending never used to exist. Everybody had there own style or were stand-ups. Now it is a percentage game. Go down, look big, and force the perfect shot, and based on percentages, you'll be fine.

Also the equipment has gotten ridiculous. The average shot is 2.5% faster and the goalies have swelled to 30% bigger. The league finally woke up after Giguere's Michelin-Man performance in the 2003 playoffs. It still needs to get smaller up top.

3. Instigator.
Did we ever see Gretzky get crossed checked in the face (Hatcher on Crosby, more than once). Gretzky had more room to maneuver than a plane in the sky, and superstars were forced to defend themselves rarely. Rarely going to the box. I'm not saying they shouldn't have to defend themselves, I'm saying you can't have scoring and no goons at the same time. The refs have proven they are no protection. Year before rule put in: 14 - 50 goal men. Inception year: 7 - 50 goal men. Never more than 3 since -even with all the dumb penalties they call now.

4. Expansion.
Football, Baseball, and Basketball each pull talent from over 10 times more junior athletes than hockey does, and yet 30 teams are in the NHL. Imagine booting the 230 worst players in the leaque. Imagine the speed on the ice. Imagine going back to the 80's when Edmonton had 3 Famers on 1 line, and Calgary was no slouch either. That is unheard of today.