The Unofficial Jaromir Jagr site A.K.A Fredrik's JJS, Fredrik on TUJJS

I didn't live in the 50's 60's or 70's, but like nowadays in the NHL all players wanted to win the Stanley cup. Now and then you read about guys like Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Phil Esposito and how good they were, but were the starplayers back in the old days as good as those playing now?
I'm maybe not the right person to answer that question, but when I've seen small highlights from those days, it didn't seem like the players nor the goalies were that skillful as many players are today. From the highlights and goals I've seen I especially remember a goal which was scored by a for me unknown Montreal Canadien player: The Canadien right-winger got the puck close to the net and fired of a low shot which didn't look too hard to beat, but the goalie (instead of remaining in his position in front of the goal) skated a little bit towards the Canadien player and seemed to try to kick the puck away when the winger finally shot the puck. This is one of many strange things I've seen, but as I wrote, I'm not the one to answer the question. Maybe there were a lot of players which would have made it as good nowadays as then...?

Jagr said in an interview for some months ago that today you have to work much harder to get a scoring opportunity than it was before in the NHL. However when Jagr played with great playmakers like Lemieux and Francis, who often set him up for great scoring chances, he couldn't really complain. But now that none of them plays for the Pens, (and there's nobody else who has taken the place as Jagr's "personal passing partner") it's clear that he feels the difference.

In the 50's there were not as much Europeans in the teams like today, and if you think about skillful players like: Jagr, Forsberg and Hasek it's clear that they make the NHL a much funnier game to watch. It becomes harder and harder for the big though and aggressive guys to make it as far as becoming star players, and maybe there will be even less of them in a couple of years, and maybe that might be a good thing...