from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

In the past 10 years, or ever since the lockout of 2004-05 shut the league down for a full season, the quality of play has soared in the NHL.

Scoring is up slightly. Fighting is down significantly. The introduction of the salary cap helped level the playing field, narrowing the gap between what used to be known as the NHL’s haves and have-nots.

The playoff races invariably go down to the wire and in two of the past three seasons, the team that won the Stanley Cup did so after barely qualifying for the playoffs.

Thanks to the removal of the centre red line, allowing for two-line passes, the speed of the game has increased dramatically. Plodding defenceman obsolete and fewer teams carry designated fighters any more because they can’t keep up.

much more