Let's Talk NHL? (looking at you gredler)

[turboswimbz]

Wondering if there are any other NHL fans out there:

Not going to lie, I'm just making this topic because I am happy as a Devil's fan I can talk about them without a paper bag over my head for the first time in several seasons.

so some things I've noticed:  The rule changes have opened a bit of scoring ... the current NHL is a league of youth and speed which is surprisingly fun to watch. Waiting for the Defenses to adjust should be interesting. 

I really like the Blue Jackets and Penguins again this year so far.  The Devils and Toronto are just fun to watch.   

After seeing the lineup for Vegas, I thought they had a chance to be decent... Glad to see I was right, kinda fun to watch. 

Also, how is Jagr not just a pile of dust at this point?

[LostFlunky]

I did not expect Matthews to be as good as he is... Him and Nylander are special together...

It is nice to see a few new teams looking good this year - Toronto, NJ, Carolina. Parity really is a thing...

[turboswimbz]

Yeah Matthews really has been great.  I mean it's one thing to play great your first, season but then to be like nah nah nah, I'm going to be more aggressive and better next season, and do it is something else.

[bob]

i agree, NHL '94 was probably the best one.
the original (before NHLPA) was also one the most important video games of all time.

[LostFlunky]

i agree, NHL '94 was probably the best one.
the original (before NHLPA) was also one the most important video games of all time.

NHL 94 was the best one - and it really bugged me when it came out that it was much better on the Genesis...

[turboswimbz]

i agree, NHL '94 was probably the best one.
the original (before NHLPA) was also one the most important video games of all time.

NHL 94 was the best one - and it really bugged me when it came out that it was much better on the Genesis... 

WHAT ARE YOU BOTH CRAZY?????? NHL95 is the best

[bob]

i agree, NHL '94 was probably the best one.
the original (before NHLPA) was also one the most important video games of all time.

NHL 94 was the best one - and it really bugged me when it came out that it was much better on the Genesis...

NHL series helped the genesis succeed.

[turboswimbz]

Well after a great start the devils have come back down to earth.  but it looks good heading into an actual postseason this year. 

IT's been fun watching the young talent on the team. lots of scoring.

I also am just having so much damn fun watching Las Vegas. My last comment before the season:

they have a decent roster they are going to surprise people. -> consider me surprised.

[Gredler]

How did I miss this thread, I am catching up now, but I will do my best to keep this at the top of the list. Thank you for creating it, and thank you for your patronage to our great sport of hockey.

Go Kings Go.

Wondering if there are any other NHL fans out there:

Yes, hello.

so some things I've noticed:  The rule changes have opened a bit of scoring ... the current NHL is a league of youth and speed which is surprisingly fun to watch. Waiting for the Defenses to adjust should be interesting. 

I love the changes to the league, watching old games is always shocking how much better it is now. I do think they should reduce goalie thigh rises or require the pad be strapped tighter to their thighs. The current 4 to 6 inches of pad above the knee is silly and is why most goalies play and look the same - the butterfly technique would not be so dominating if goalies couldn't have such a wide coverage down low while still covering their five hole.

I really like the Blue Jackets and Penguins again this year so far.  The Devils and Toronto are just fun to watch. 

I've only watched the Kings so far this season, and haven't seen the Devils or Jackets, but Pens are looking as overpowered as ever with the help of young talented goaltending - what a well managed team. I have matthews on my fantasy team, and love seeing his numbers go up, but know very little about the squad otherwise. I hate the jackets because I hate john tortellini.

After seeing the lineup for Vegas, I thought they had a chance to be decent... Glad to see I was right, kinda fun to watch. 

Vegas is doing incredible, they really are playing with a chip on their shoulder- the leagues neglected and forgotten elite all on one team - awesome story so far out of them - and good for vegas to finally have a professional team to get behind - eh saru?!

Also, how is Jagr not just a pile of dust at this point?

Because he sleeps with so many women, it's well documented.


94 for the Sega CD is easily the best 16 bit Hockey game, then 95, then 98, then 93, then 96/7. TV sports hockey should get street date credit for being first, I think, and is also still very fun to play. Compared to other 3rd party hockey games, it's second only to the EA games IMO. Most other hockey games sucked at the time.


my hockey game loves went in this order


Ice Hockey - NES
Blades of Steel - NES
TV Sports Hockey - TG16
NHL 94 - Sega CD
NHL 95 - SNES
NHL 98 - SNES
Wayne Gretzky 3D Hockey - N64
NHL 2K - Dreamcast
NHL Hitz 2002 - PS2 (later got it on xbox, much better, but everyone had it on PS2 so that's what we always played)
NHL Hitz Pro - PS2


NHL then went the way of Madden. I pick up a 2 year old version occasionally, currently 2016 is what I have for PS4. I payed 7$ + tax at target from the clearance bin, and for that price it's a lot of fun, but it's criminal that rosters don't stay current with antiquated versions.

[DeshDildo]

- Jagr will probably play into his 80's
- Red Wings country here and it is sad days
- Haven't watched much NHL as my son plays on a travel team this year (Go Toledo Cherokee)
- Aforementioned son is a Blackhawks fan and is banished from my household
- Played a bit of NHL 18' on PS4 because banished son has it
- My next door neighbor is one of the goalies for Colorado Eagles in the coast (Lukas Hafner) and won the Kelly Cup with them last season
- My brother-in-law played all over the place but I think Gredler's NHL 16' is too new to find him in the game.  I think his last year in the ECHL was 13' season.
- I can barely skate

These are all of the hockey thoughts from the world of Desh currently.

[jordan_hillman]

i agree, NHL '94 was probably the best one.
the original (before NHLPA) was also one the most important video games of all time.

NHL 94 was the best one - and it really bugged me when it came out that it was much better on the Genesis... 

WHAT ARE YOU BOTH CRAZY?????? NHL95 is the best

Personally, NHL 96 on the SNES is my go-to hockey game typically. But I absolutely love the Red Wings rosters on both 95 and 96 

[jordan_hillman]

TV sports hockey should get street date credit for being first, I think, and is also still very fun to play. Compared to other 3rd party hockey games, it's second only to the EA games IMO. Most other hockey games sucked at the time.

YES!!


TV Sports rules!!

[turboswimbz]

i agree, NHL '94 was probably the best one.
the original (before NHLPA) was also one the most important video games of all time.

NHL 94 was the best one - and it really bugged me when it came out that it was much better on the Genesis... 

WHAT ARE YOU BOTH CRAZY?????? NHL95 is the best

Personally, NHL 96 on the SNES is my go-to hockey game typically. But I absolutely love the Red Wings rosters on both 95 and 96 

Yes, so good in those games,

in real life that was a fun team to watch as well.

Speaking of the Wings I was able to see the new arena when i was in town - looked pretty cool. 

on the Video game side you know what doesn't get enough love the Bret Hull games.  not the greatest but pretty good.

[Gredler]

The wings were usually the choice of my brother and I always picked the hawks for the almighty Eagle, young Ronick, Tony Amonte, and the home town hero Chelios. We would have battles to the death, but he was always better than me and would sometimes "downgrade" his choice to the Kings but even they were quite a powerhouse statistically in those games - only Hrudey was their weak link in my openion.

I've always watched the kings, but it wasn't until the class of goaltending ushered in by the Johnathans that I really became a fan. It's a shame that Bernier hasn't gone farther, he was a high draft pick and was thought to be the starter before Quick showed his prowess. There's few goaltenders left in the league who are as athletic as Quick - you can really see how his idolization of Mike Richter shows through in his play.

[turboswimbz]

AHh the kings with one series lose the devils became a pile of crap....

and yeah the kings were pretty awesome back then.  it helped that Grez was like a 99 overall in a few of those games. 

Quick is pretty fun to watch

I also like lundquist (or however you spell it)

Price has been a beast but less fun of a style to watch

[Gredler]

Lundqvist is the boundary pusher for equipment developments - he basically started the massive thigh rise movement IMHO if not just popularizing it. My wife also thinks he's very handsome, so I hate him for that reason as well. Ugly goalies with form fitting equipment, that's my jam!

Price's shakey start had a lot of fantasy owners trembling that he was falling off the wagon, but he's picked it back up it seems, playing like his old calm self again.

[turboswimbz]

Lundqvist is the boundary pusher for equipment developments - he basically started the massive thigh rise movement IMHO if not just popularizing it. My wife also thinks he's very handsome, so I hate him for that reason as well. Ugly goalies with form fitting equipment, that's my jam!

Price's shakey start had a lot of fantasy owners trembling that he was falling off the wagon, but he's picked it back up it seems, playing like his old calm self again.

i don't think you can put that all on Lundy.  IT was a trend before he came along it was 2005 when they made them wear form fitting jerseys and downsize to 15" and 45" gloves. it was only a matter of time till they pushed the limits elsewhere.  Roy and Brodeur collective style also played a role in it IMO.

[Gredler]

Lundqvist is the boundary pusher for equipment developments - he basically started the massive thigh rise movement IMHO if not just popularizing it. My wife also thinks he's very handsome, so I hate him for that reason as well. Ugly goalies with form fitting equipment, that's my jam!

Price's shakey start had a lot of fantasy owners trembling that he was falling off the wagon, but he's picked it back up it seems, playing like his old calm self again.

i don't think you can put that all on Lundy.  IT was a trend before he came along it was 2005 when they made them wear form fitting jerseys and downsize to 15" and 45" gloves. it was only a matter of time till they pushed the limits elsewhere.  Roy and Brodeur collective style also played a role in it IMO.

I am specifically talking about thigh rises. You could order pads "Lundqvist spec" which was a rigid thigh rise so it doesn't bend to fit over your thigh (and a special Y shaped calf strap that bridges the two into one for more rotation).



vs

cache1.asset-cache.net/gc/468758862-goalie-ron-hextall-of-the-philadelphia-gettyimages.jpg

And yeah you're correct, it's barely much on him definitely not all on him, I just like hating the guy!

[turboswimbz]

fair enough lol.

yeah those thigh risers are crazy on some of em. he definitely popularized them on another level though. the 5 hole being taken away also has sent a lot more shots up high, which idk if I am fan of

[jordan_hillman]

fair enough lol.

yeah those thigh risers are crazy on some of em. he definitely popularized them on another level though. the 5 hole being taken away also has sent a lot more shots up high, which idk if I am fan of

I definitely agree. Essentially, the bottom third of the net has been taken away due to the size of goalie pads lol.

Right now Pekka Rinne is my favorite goalie in the NHL, with Jonathan Quick being a damn close second. Both of those guys are stupidly athletic, and I love how they both aggressively challenge shooters.

Dominic Hasek is still the greatest of all time IMHO. 

[Gredler]

Dominic Hasek is still the greatest of all time IMHO. 

yuck, the dominatrix!? ya right, Eddy the Eagle baby, #1 of all time in my book!

[jordan_hillman]

Dominic Hasek is still the greatest of all time IMHO. 

yuck, the dominatrix!? ya right, Eddy the Eagle baby, #1 of all time in my book!

Belfour was an absolute beast! I don't think those late 90s Dallas teams get nearly enough credit, but what can you do?

But for my money, nothing will beat a classic Hasek flop 

[turboswimbz]

My top 5 goalies of all time:  I could be convinced of moving any of these guys around and probably for a few I omitted to be in the top 5. I'm not sure Belfour is on the top 10 . . . Great goalie but so hard to put him in front of others

Brodeur - I gotta do it (the numbers back this up t least)
Hasek - the most fun, awesome athletic goalie I've personally seen. 

Roy - changed the game in many ways

Plante - Until hasek came along the guy was the last goalie to have hart hardware

Hall - The dude invented modern butterfly. if he could have just learned to stop Orr. (still the greatest sports photo of all time, with Orr floating in front if him)

[Gredler]

I have a distane for both hasek and Roy, so my opinion is purely biased. I'd put fuhr and eddy above both of them. I never saw plante or hall, so I have a hard time ranking them despite knowing their influence. How about some Richter love, hell he is the main character in the PCE castlevania and introduced the world to the flexibility and style we enjoy seeing out of so many goalies today

[turboswimbz]

I have a distane for both hasek and Roy, so my opinion is purely biased. I'd put fuhr and eddy above both of them. I never saw plante or hall, so I have a hard time ranking them despite knowing their influence. How about some Richter love, hell he is the main character in the PCE castlevania and introduced the world to the flexibility and style we enjoy seeing out of so many goalies today

Richter was the man!

Fuhr is in the convo. no doubt. 

I'lll give you Eddy as a rock solid guy.

Actives goalies - what's everyone's thoughts?

I'm not sure how to rank them but here are few I would consider.

Rask
Quick
BIshop
Schinder
Price
Fleury
Rinne


Hutton

[sirhcman]

I have a distane for both hasek and Roy, so my opinion is purely biased. I'd put fuhr and eddy above both of them. I never saw plante or hall, so I have a hard time ranking them despite knowing their influence. How about some Richter love, hell he is the main character in the PCE castlevania and introduced the world to the flexibility and style we enjoy seeing out of so many goalies today

Fuhr was good but he was very lucky to be on one of the best offensive teams in the modern NHL. Just look at his GAA and save percentage against his peers from the time. All time great? I don't think so

[turboswimbz]

Fuhr was good but he was very lucky to be on one of the best offensive teams in the modern NHL. Just look at his GAA and save percentage against his peers from the time. All time great? I don't think so

Fair point Sir:
GAA3.38   Sv % 0.887
Quite a bit under let's say Hasek, Quick Broduer, Dryden.  and middle to back of the pack in all those years. 


He is an all time great though, because he did win all those championships over a long playing career and thus is in the HOF despite being pedestrian stats wise.

[jordan_hillman]

Actives goalies - what's everyone's thoughts?

I'm not sure how to rank them but here are few I would consider.

Rask
Quick
BIshop
Schinder
Price
Fleury
Rinne


Hutton

Quick and Schneider get the nod from me for current goalies. However, Rinne and Quick are by far and away my two favorite goalies to watch right now.


But I agree with your list! I'd through Holtby in there as well.

[turboswimbz]

Actives goalies - what's everyone's thoughts?

I'm not sure how to rank them but here are few I would consider.

Rask
Quick
BIshop
Schinder
Price
Fleury
Rinne


Hutton

Quick and Schneider get the nod from me for current goalies. However, Rinne and Quick are by far and away my two favorite goalies to watch right now.


But I agree with your list! I'd through Holtby in there as well.

Should of included holtby,

Side note: I've tabled actually watching the NHL games for a bit in favor of woman's Olympic hockey for the moment.  I find it interesting so many NHLers sisters play and are good.