Hockey has changed a lot over the years and nobody notices the changes more than the veteran players who get to play in different eras of hockey with different players.
Alexei Kovalev, for example, played in the NHL from 1992 to the 2012/13 season, so he had the chance to see how hockey changed over the course of 20 years and he's followed along with the game since.
Kovalev was recently interviewed by a Russian website (rsport.ria.ru) and talked about the current NHL game and his thoughts might surprise you:
Kovalev cited players being afraid to make mistakes because of the repercussions as part of the reason why he thinks the NHL is uninteresting right now.
It's a very interesting and maybe a controversial take to some, but it's hard to argue with someone who has played and seen so much hockey over the years, even if some might think the NHL product is the best it's been in a while with so many exciting young players and the speed of the game being a lot faster.
Do you agree with Kovalev's comments? Let us know by tweeting us @BarDown or in the comments below.
(H/T: /r/hockey)
