The Edmonton Oilers were a Cup finalist back in 2005-06, as they are now. What made a Stanley Cup contender back then in the 'new NHL?' This 2006 story has the answer.

The Edmonton Oilers are in the Stanley Cup final for the first time since the 2005-06 season. And in this cover story from The Hockey News’ June 16, 2006, edition (Volume 59, Issue 35), senior writer Mike Brophy looked around the league – including Edmonton – to see how Cup champions are built.

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Today’s NHL features teams with all-around toughness, but that element was applicable back in 2005-06, according to then-Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford. The ‘new’ NHL at that time looked much like the ‘new’ NHL today.

“You need to have some tough, physical players in your top nine (forwards),” Rutherford told Brophy. “But you can’t have an open spot, with a guy just sitting there waiting to go out and do his job periodically. The fourth line that I like is an energy line that can skate and all three guys can kill penalties.”

Here's the full story.

THE NEW SCHOOL OF THOUGHT

By Mike Brophy

Let's be clear about one thing, with nearly one year of the 'new NHL' having passed, there's no clear-cut formula for building a champion. 

That said, some things have become abundantly apparent, particularly amongst those who have enjoyed success by embracing the league's new style of play. 

Speed trumps toughness, while intelligence and discipline triumph over brawn and physical intimidation.

“More than anything, the biggest shift is the style in the past was about thinking, size, hooking, holding and blocking and now it has moved from the head to the feet,” says Buffalo Sabres GM Darcy Regier. “It has shifted back to a skating game. Before it was largely about thinking and all the things you could get away with.”

If having a strong defense were all it took to be champion, then the Calgary Flames surely would have gotten out of the first round of the playoffs. The Flames, after all, have one of the best goalies in the business in Miikka Kiprusoff and a defense corps rivaled by few.

The Flames simply couldn’t score enough goals and they’ll be in the same boat next season if they fail to bring in support for Jarome Iginla.

Likewise, if it were all about offense, the high-octane Ottawa Senators wouldn’t have been sent packing with a humiliating second round defeat. The Sens were the NHL’s highest-scoring team in the regular season, but when their machine guns turned into pop guns and their usually reliable defense wilted, they were no match for the upstart Buffalo Sabres.

Talk to players, coaches and GMs and they will tell you the two most common denominators for success in today’s game are good goaltending and team speed. You might argue that has always been the case, but in the old NHL you could neutralize speed by cheating. In today’s game, cheaters no longer prosper.

Good goaltending is still a no-brainer. No matter how the game is being played, or more importantly, officiated, you need a dependable last line of defense. Goaltending still separates the winners from the losers. Where would the Edmonton Oilers be without Dwayne Roloson? Some felt a first round draft pick was too high a price to pay for a 36-year-old backup goalie, but Roloson has made Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe look like a genius.

“We can sit here and talk about a lot of different things and they’d probably be accurate, but the bottom line is, to have the success, goaltending is the key,” says Carolina GM Jim Rutherford, whose Hurricanes have been one of the most surprising teams, benefitting from a solid 1-2 punch in net with Martin Gerber and rookie Cam Ward.

"It has shifted back to a skating game." - Buffalo GM Darcy Regier

“That is always at the end of every conversation. Everybody talks about the ‘old game’ and the ‘new game’ and the bottom line is there is one main factor here – goaltending.”

Many assumed that goalies, who had to deal with streamlined equipment, restrictions on where they can play the puck and rules that encouraged more offense, would be hardest hit in the new NHL. They were not.

Defensemen, who had grown accustomed to hooking and holding (not to mention cross-checking in front of the net), were asked to basically relearn their position. They could not rely on old habits and those who did put their teams in jeopardy by taking penalties.

“Defensemen have to be more mobile,” says Edmonton blueliner Chris Pronger. “They have to be able to skate…to get to the puck and they need to be able to move it. You can’t just keep banging it out of your zone off the boards and glass anymore. The game is more about puck possession than ever.”

Adds Rutherford: “In the new NHL, good skating and puckhandling defensemen are keys to successful teams. You don’t want to turn the puck over; you want puck possession. The more skill your team has, the more you have possession of the puck and that makes you a better team.”

It used to be the team with the biggest and most physically intimidating defense could neutralize an opponent’s skill and speed. That is no longer the case; just ask the Philadelphia Flyers, who stocked up on blueline giants Derian Hatcher, Mike Rathje and Chris Therien prior to this season.

Upon further review, you can bet teams will change the way they evaluate smaller, skilled prospects at the entry draft. Does a team pick a 6-foot-4 winger who skates like he’s in quicksand ahead of a 5-foot-10 speedster with natural scoring ability? In the past, perhaps. But the crackdown on obstruction allows smaller players to stand tall.

“The No. 1 thing is speed,” says Tampa Bay associate coach Craig Ramsay. “You’re going to have more room in the game for small defensemen. And there’s more room for smaller forwards, too. Having said that, they still have to have courage. A player like (6-foot-9, 260-pound Zdeno) Chara is so big and intimidating. In the old days he could grab you and throw you around. You can’t do that now. You have a (small) player like Martin St-Louis going into the corner with him and coming out with the puck.”

Strangely, St-Louis led the NHL in scoring and was the MVP in the final year of knock-’em-down, drag-’em-out hockey, yet struggled this year. Being small and skilled isn’t an instant ticket to success. Detroit is still trying to figure out why Pavel Datsyuk can lead them in scoring in the regular season, yet hasn’t connected for a goal in 26 straight playoff games.

Still, it was obvious from the get-go that small, quick players had more freedom than ever to drive to the net and defensemen had to worry more about positioning and foot speed.

“Look at the Sabres,” Pronger says. “They are a perfect example of what it takes to win in the new NHL. They have guys like J-P Dumont, Daniel Briere, Chris Drury and Tim Connolly up front. None of them are 6-footers or over 200 pounds, but because they aren’t being molested out there, they can use their speed and skill.”

“Briere is small, but he has heart,” Ramsay says. “He scores around the net and has the quickness to get there.

“Look at the game-winning goal in the Buffalo-Ottawa series, the shorthanded goal where (Jason Pominville) drove wide past (Daniel) Alfredsson. I suspect in the old days he never would have made that move because somebody would have chopped him into little pieces. Alfredsson is not a dirty player, but you can bet he would have laid a great big whack on his arms.”

In sticking with the crackdown on obstruction, the NHL has taken a huge stride toward becoming relevant again after the lockout. Fans who had grown sick and tired of a style of play that rewarded cheating find the new game stimulating.

“The surveys say the fans like it,” Rutherford says. “And I think most of the media likes it. The true test, though, is in talking to the players and the majority of players I have talked to love it. They tell me on off-nights they tune into games on TV. It’s the same for me. It’s my job to watch games, two or three a night, but I find myself calling up guys and telling them how much I enjoy watching their team. I don’t remember ever doing that in the past.”

Having the greatest crop of rookies ever certainly aided the NHL. The addition of instant stars such as Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Dion Phaneuf and Henrik Lundqvist piqued the interest of fans threatening to turn to decorating shows on TV for their entertainment fix.

SABRES SURPRISE

Not too many gave the Sabres much of a hope of accomplishing anything this season. Even when Buffalo got off to a great start, there were those convinced the hooking and holding would return and the Sabres would be simpy too small to survive. Wrong on both counts.

With excellent goaltending from rookie Ryan Miller and Martin Biron, along with a dependable blueline and an abundance of speed up front, the Sabres have become the poster child for the way the game is to be played. Even injuries were not able to derail the Buffalo Express.

The new standard has allowed a small defenseman – such as 6-foot, 190-pound Brian Campbell, who struggled to find his way in the old NHL – to become an impact player.

It is also more difficult than ever for a team to make room for a one-dimensional player whose only job is to fight. If you don’t bring more to the table than your knuckles, it will be increasingly difficult for teams to allocate money for a pure fighter in a salary cap system.

“You need to have some tough, physical players in your top nine (forwards),” Rutherford says. “But you can’t have an open spot, with a guy just sitting there waiting to go out and do his job periodically. The fourth line that I like is an energy line that can skate and all three guys can kill penalties.”

Edmonton is a perfect example of that. Though the Oilers don’t have any superstars up front, they boast speed, size and grit and are at their best when they forecheck and body check the opposition into submission. They are also one of the best shot-blocking teams in the league.

The Oilers have a habit, however, of sitting back and playing passively when they get a lead. They become susceptible when that happens.

Ramsay says teams will be inclined to develop secondary scorers to play on the fourth line; offensive specialists who move up the depth chart in an emergency situation and take shifts on the power play.

The Hurricanes, like the Sabres, appear to have come out of nowhere. Coach Peter Laviolette insists his team was going to employ the same style regardless of how the rules were called. That meant plenty of forechecking and their defensemen pinching as often as possible.

“Whether it was the new NHL or old NHL, we were going to play the same way which is two men up ice pressuring pucks; a more aggressive style where you would just allow people to pursue as much as possible,” Laviolette says.

“There are two ways you can think about it; one is you think offense first, the other is you think defense first. I don’t think there is a right way or a wrong way; it’s whatever works for your team. Whatever system you put in place, it’s about execution and how hard you play.”

And the learning curve has just begun.

THE FINAL FOUR

The Sabres made it deep into the post-season with a lineup featuring 14 drafted players and only two free agent signings. Buffalo’s opponent in the East final, Carolina, relied more on shrewd trades (10) and free agents (7).

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