Baggy nets and blue undershirts: 6 more things I miss from the NHL’s ancient days

Exactly one year ago today, I wrote a column about being old, and the subtle things I miss about what hockey used to be. No big issues, to be clear – we’re talking stuff like how the water bottles used to pop off the nets, and how linesmen used to have to climb the glass to avoid the puck. If I’m being honest, I figured it would be a bit of a throwaway, the kind of mid-season filler that’s fun for a day and then fades quickly. Instead, it ended up being one of my more popular columns of the season, and I decided to make it a regular feature.

Then I forgot. Because I am old.

But if there’s anything us old fogies do better than the occasional memory lapse, it’s celebrating the random anniversary of things that weren’t all that important to begin with. So today, one year later to the day, I’m bringing the gimmick back, with a half dozen new items. Well, old ones. You’ll figure it out.

But first, just like last time, a disclaimer: This is all in good fun, and very much not meant to be some whiny screed about how much better things used to be, and how Gary Bettman has ruined everything by dragging the game into the 20th century. If you have strong feelings about that stuff, please take them elsewhere, because I am decrepit and fragile.

Let’s get old.

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