I did a thread on Maxwell. Statistically he was great but i dimly recall posts about his intangibles etc. Hell he scored (approx 19-52-71) and could really fight. I wondered why..................
I think he faded quickly too.....................
Really excellent stuff Bigjack especially regarding the dilution of talent. Guys with no hands or instincts forced into top six duty. Defensemen who can't consistently hit the net with shots from the point. etc.
I wish i was older (sort of), i'm 41 and really was able to get into hockey in a big way in 82-83 coinciding with
Rod Langway's arrival in Washington. I wish that i had been able to truly grow up with hockey the way i did with baseball.
Obviously, so much had to do with the rapid expansion of the game and strategy employed so effectively on defense which stifled creativity but was so easy to copy to try to compete without maximum talent. I tuly miss the competitiveness down low even if it came with clutching and grabbing and i'm hoping that eventually it will return to a balance of allowing guys to compete for space without calling excessive penalties and disturbing the "flow".
I'm particularly hoping that crease defenders ability to crosscheck will be overlooked by officials..............we need the right balance between not stifling the game's offensive potential and returning some of hockeys best atribute, passion.
Speed, flow, passion!