The NHL's past 25 years have brought several significant changes to the game known today. If you'd told people the league would look this different in 2025, many would've been hesitant to believe you.

There have been four new teams added into the NHL, a drastic increase in the salary cap - which continues to rise - as well as the introduction of new rules, including overtime becoming 3-on-3, the introduction of the shootout and more.

Of all the different events that have transpired in the past quarter-century, here are four of the biggest changes the NHL has seen in the past 25 years.

1. The Introduction Of The Salary Cap

Before the NHL's lockout season in 2004-05, teams could spend as much or as little as they wanted. But since the 2005-06 season, the league has been operating in a salary-cap financial system. Commissioner Gary Bettman made it a selling point to all team owners by equalling the playing field when it came to paying for talent.

The first season under cap rules saw a $39-million limit for all teams. With that, no player could earn more than 20 percent of the cap ceiling, which was $7.8 million. Of course, the salary cap has risen to $95.5 million this season, but the 20 percent per-player limit remains. 

With the cap ceiling projected to rise exponentially in the near future, you'd have to say Bettman's plan has been a smashing success. There's great competitive parity in the league. 

2. Crackdown On Obstruction – The End Of The Dead Puck Era

It was the late 1990s, and the NHL knew it had an entertainment problem on its hands. Gone were the days in the 1980s and early '90s when skill ruled the game. In its place was a league that allowed "waterskiing" – the obstruction move when you stuck a stick blade into the belly of opponents' stomachs, impeding their way up the ice.

Essentially, the joy of the game was weeded out by coaches who picked apart opponents and coached to win, no matter how ugly the cost, and the statistics bear out the changes.

The Dead Puck Era essentially ended when the 2004-05 lockout season concluded. The NHL allowed its game product to grow unruly, and only the input of veteran NHL players – most notably, longtime NHL star Brendan Shanahan, who convened a summit to try and improve the game with the input of top figures in the league. 

Shanahan's changes brought the NHL into its current era, and he and the league gave the game back to the players by cracking down on obstruction. And although the NHL has been challenged to maintain that level of officiating vigilance, there's no question the game is more watchable and entertaining than it was in the Dead Puck Era.

3. Introduction Of The Shootout – And Later On, 3-on-3 Overtime

This change boils down to one thing – the NHL's desire to eliminate tie games. In 2005, the NHL embarked on a radical change to its standings point system.

After 87 seasons and 5,729 ties, the NHL preferred giving fans a winner and a loser at the end of every game. And the mechanism the league chose to give fans a guaranteed winner was the shootout.

Since then, the NHL has needed the shootout about 2,500 times. So, in 2015-16, the league went to 3-on-3 overtime to mitigate the number of shootouts. Although the shootout is still loathed by fans who want a team-based solution to games, it's a practical solution that ensures a winner and a loser in a reasonable amount of time.

The shootout is a fixture in the international game for a reason – it's exciting, it's reliable, and there's now a generation who has grown up with it. The shootout clearly isn't for everyone, but barring some significant unforeseen changes, the shootout is here to stay.

While NHL Shootouts Remain Polarizing, Penalty Shots Are Still Exciting An NHL insider made an interesting point about encouraging the referees to call more penalty shots, and he's right. Even though the very similar shootout has lost its shine, the penalty shot remains thrilling.

4. More Teams, Expansion Drafts

In the past 25 years, the NHL has added four teams. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild came aboard in 2000, the Vegas Golden Knights in 2017, and in 2021, the Seattle Kraken played their inaugural season.

The reason expansion is always a net positive is simple. Fans love the process of teams making players available in the expansion draft. You can project which players from your team will be exposed in an expansion draft, and you can project which available players should be taken in the draft.

There are steady rumors that the NHL is going to expand again, likely growing by two teams. That means the league will have 34 teams, the largest number among the big four leagues in North America. Whether it's adding a team in Houston, Atlanta, Arizona or Quebec City, it feels like the league is going to grow again. 

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