on the subject of shots on goal at 32:19 by my count, it seems to me that a lot of the 94-95 playoffs were low SOG games. you state that the devils gave up 30 SOG once out of their 20 games as if it were a statistical anomaly. but in contrast, the average SOG per game of detroit's opponents were: 22.8 (DAL), 15.25 (SJS), 22.6 (CHI), 27 (NJD). they did not give up >30 SOG in any game (OT or not) until game 3 of the SCF against the devils. every other game against their opponents were 29 SOG or less. by that logic, detroit seemed to smother their opponents defensively in the 94-95 playoffs more effectively than the devils. additionally, across 30 average SOG amounts per series in the 94-95 playoffs, only 8 "teams" averaged >30 SOG in their series match ups (DET doing so in each of their 3 series leading to the SCF). so yes, while the devils giving up amount of SOG they did during their championship run this year was impressive, it seemed to be quite common in the 94-95 playoffs. so it's a little disingenuous IMO to elevate this as an example of how the devils smothered their opponents defensively (boring) and not paint the picture across the league of low SOG amounts for seemingly all playoff teams.

They were not "known" as the red army. They WERE the red army.

you know you’re allowed to make bad videos once in a while too right? lmfao this was an instant classic

Wow, congratulations, you talked about the most boring play-style of professional hockey to watch for both casual and die hard fans for an hour and kept me invested, great job.

Great video, thank you for your research and timing

Always used the 1-4 NZ Lock playing *EA* with bros

another banger. respectfully, did our back and forth on your devils/flyers video inspire this video at all? edit: nvm, commented mid-video. I see the direction you went here.

the last line made me a bit sad, because it reminded me of how we don't have the other nic(k) (backstrom) to help ovi anymore. not that that's dowd's fault, he's fun and great, we're lucky to have him.

I want to double like this video :)

0:20 If I remember correctly, the seventh player on the ice was the Rover, which I’m pretty sure Hobey Baker was one at some point.

classic rags starting the trap

Lets go! Its a Halloween miracle! We've all gotten trick or treated with a damn near hour long Pinholes Graham masterpiece!🎉

Incredible video. I think you missed two more causes of the dead puck era, but were on the mark otherwise. Those are 1. Goalie equipment getting much bigger 2. Goalies en masse adopting the butterfly You also go on to address it indirectly, but the fact that there were so many bad new teams that had to find a way to keep up was in fact a huge part of the development of the dead puck era as well. And you can tell that the NHL even managed to fix this with expansions in vegas and seattle, even if whiny fans of other teams think those teams' fans need to "earn their fandom" through rooting for a bad team.

Fantastic video! Keep it up, dude!

Devils sweeping the Wings in the final is still one of the biggest upsets in NHL history

If the trap is easy why did no one pull it off as well as Devils?

Holy not-quite-Jon-Bois, Batman.

The Definitive "The Trap" video of all time

The trap: the system 95% of people seemingly hate, yet only 5% of fans can actually explain it.

From the Thumbnail, I was 95% sure this was going to be blasting the Championchip Devils teams & how they killed Hockey for a decade. What we got was a video I will point to every time the Trap is mentioned cause the stigma is real when it come to Devils & the Trap. Continue the great content & work man!

Me: Can't wait to hear about the 95 Devils and 96 Panthers. Graham: So in 1915...

The BobbyBroccoli of Hockey Absolutely astonishingly well crafted documentary once again, thank you!

How ia this guy producing that detailed and researched videos with only 15k. Give that men an audience already!!!

study any game with coach jukka jalonen, its the extreme version of the already extreme version. and i think his "successes" is the modern re-circulation of the trap. not great imo.

The New Jersey Devils won a Stanley Cup in the nineties by riding the neutral zone trap and relying on Martin Brodeur to stop anything that got thru.

seeing the length of this vid got me seriously excited, gotta love vids that take an in-depth look on the topic 🙏

One more thing to add that I didn’t really see mentioned is the fact that the butterfly’s widespread adoption also coincided with the dead puck era and definitely fed into it. You suddenly weren’t guaranteed to score every time you got a 2 on 1

This is a work of art

I remember reading an article in 2005 about how cracking down on obstruction would destroy ice hockey as an entertaining game. The piece was by a well-respected hockey journalist and argued its points well. He just did not realize how skilled 21st century players are and what they can do when allowed to skate and handle the puck.

you know what else showed up in 94? the betman. the betman has been awful for the game and thats by design... he did come from the high ups in the NBA afterall.

My favorite 1-3-1 trap moment is when the Flyers exploited the Lightning for using it in 2011.

Hustlin' Cheevers best Cheeevers 😤

I had no idea how dumb the rules were back in the day, no forward passing? 💀

These days, the best user of the Trap would be Jukka Jalonen. Not pretty, but very effective at strangling teams like a boa constrictor.

Another banger of a video🔥

As A Devils fan, i always heard NJ is so boring blah blah when I was a kid. But I never bought it, winning is never boring ;) lol

First time coming across your videos and always wanted to know more about the dreaded trap. Thank you for this insanely well researched vid. Reminds me of alt shift x but for hockey

Incredible work man, keep it up <3 (im always up for some habs glazing)

I want 95-04 hockey back so bad, big hits, great defense, clutch and grab, actual greats manage to play through it. Now you can't play defense, you can't throw a big hit without having to fight or end up in the box, guys end up getting called for tripping for a clean hip check. It means that defense relies on flailing your stick around and hoping to block shots. It puts the risk of injury on your team instead of the opposing one and that shouldn't happen.

Man I loved those NJ teams so much. Kind of ironic that what is a weakness today (defense and goaltending) was their greatest strength back then. I can’t stand how teams never give NJ the credit they deserve just because they emphasized defense over offense.

The trap and/clutch grab went hand in hand. For several years, if teams could beat it, most of the times they'd get obstructed out of their chance. It took so much offense and creativity and speed out of the game. Bad teams learned they could steal a tie or even a win by suffocating opponents this way, that's how coaches could keep jobs. It was a boring clusterfuck of an era to watch.

2018 CAPS MENTIONED!!!

I personally think the most controversial style is the Flyers of the 1970s.

"Hustlin' Cheevers" is my favorite thing ever

IT'S A (neutral zone) TRAP - coach Ackbar, 1997 rerelease of Puck Wars Episode VI

Very good take. It’s not the fault of the trap but rather the circumstances surrounding it. Tbh, remove the obstructing and two-line pass rules from that era and there would be way, way more scoring.

post-halloween party drunk cooking mac and cheese, can't wait to sink my teeth into this vid

great video

Babe wake up, Pinholes Graham uploaded

I think it'd have been funny if the Sharks did this in the late 2000s