Even Luc Robitaille had 63 goals once. |
Yes, the NHL game has certainly become more team-oriented, with both the development of third line scorers and the improvement of move-the-puck defensemen. But the most important improvement to the NHL game has come on the defensive end. Blue liners have been more adept at actually staying at the blue line and being defensive...men. Move-the-puck defensemen are no longer the norm. They may be an asset, but often considered too offensively oriented. Mike Green and Christian Erhoff are exciting defensemen but have been much scrutinized over their lack of defensive prowess. The blue liners, though, have only been a small part of the goal shortage. Goaltending has markedly improved over the years with the discovery of the athletic "butterfly" style, overtaking its' predecessor "stand-up" technique which looked more awkward and unathletic than the Biggest Loser. Once goalies realized that sliding on their pads was quicker than meandering on their skates, players started to much more often find glove instead of twine. Once the puck stoppers began growing to the level the skaters were at, goal scoring fell off the map, literally.
In the last 15 years of the NHL there has been one 60-goal scorer. In the 15 years before that, there were 26 60-goal scoring seasons, 11 70-goal scoring seasons and even 3 80-goal scoring seasons. These numbers are stunning. Even with rule changes reinstating the two-line pass and increasing penalties called the game has only been able to produce one 60-goal scorer and that was Alex Ovechkin's insane 2007-08 campaign. To put this all in perspective, Gretzky scored 92 goals in the '81-'82 season, while only four players had more than 92 points all of last season. 100 point seasons are now considered ridiculous, while 50 goal seasons aren't too far behind in the realm of insanity. Scoring in the NHL has practically disappeared yet the NHL has tried incredibly hard to alter the game and bring it back to the days of 60-goal, 140-point seasons.
As a huge fan of the National Hockey League, I'm not concerned by the lack of unbelievable individual seasons. The league is doing pretty well and it's popularity is certainly up from 10 years ago. But I sit here and wonder what it would be like to watch Stamkos, Ovie, Crosby or Malkin go for 68 goals and 161 points every season. Or watch some random pure lamplighter like, Thomas Vanek or Marian Gaborik go for a 73-goal year. It's all well and good to watch Ryan Miller, Henrik Lundqvist and Jonathan Quick make pretty saves all over the place, but my intrigue into Gretzky's two 200+ point seasons is just too high.
So as we sit here pondering about how much more exciting the game would be if 100 points was a solid season instead of a monster year and we can wonder about teams having multiple 50 goal scorers. But all we have now is just videos of Gretzky, Lemieux and Hull's goal scoring greatness. We're going to go ahead and celebrate Steven Stamkos as he pushes past 53 goals here with 6 games to play this season, but even if he somehow scores 60 it'll still be just an exception to the rule. I understand the NHL will be just fine, but I just can't stand not knowing what it's like to watch some one chase 70 goals let alone Gretzky's record of 92.
Long live Gretzky's 92. Long live Gretzky's 215. Long live individual stats.
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