The other day, I was relaxing with some friends. Over a brew or two, we chatted about sports and non-sports topics alike. Like most NHL Alumni, and like folks my age in general, I tend to think that things were generally better when done the old-school way.

As we sat and talked, I was asked this question: "Brad, what DO you like about NHL hockey today?"

I'm rarely at a loss for words, but this question made me stop and think. It's not that I couldn't think of anything I like. Rather, it was hard to express exactly what I wanted to say.

You see, when I played in the NHL, I loved everything about the game and everything that surrounded it. However, I was someone who was inside the locker room and on the ice. That is a very different point of view from being a fan watching the game. Today, I'm just a fan and my opinions are outsider's views formed watching the game while sitting in a chair.

As such, I wanted to make sure I'm comparing apples to apples. Sitting down to write this blog, I continued to puzzle over the best way to answer the question in a meaningful way.

I have noticed in self-critiquing my own previous blogs that I talk a lot in a positive light about nostalgia, former teammates and coaches and the game that I knew as a player. When talking about the game today, I found it easier and more convenient to complain, criticize and point out what I thought was wrong with the NHL and the game in general.

Those are my honest views. However, I am also someone who believes that change isn't always for the worse. I want to look at the other side of the coin and also mention positive changes as well as good things that haven't changed. Here is my most even-handed, apples-to-apples answer to what I like about today's game:

1) I like overtime in the regular season. I was a young veteran player when, in 1983-84, the NHL adopted overtime after regulation ties. It definitely added to the competition and forced teams to pick up the pace rather than both sides playing for the tie in a boring game. There were still a lot of ties under the old format, but there were fewer. I found overtime exciting as a player, even in the regular season, and I still like it as a fan.

When the league introduced 4-on-4 overtime, I was no longer playing in the NHL. But despite my "skating mobility deficit" (as it might be labeled in today's politically correct era), I loved the open ice of 4-on-4 situations when they arose during my playing career. As a fan, I enjoy 4-on-4 even more.

As a matter of fact, if they wanted to make OT a little longer in the regular season and go to 3-on-3 play, I'd love it even more.

2) I have come to like the shootout in the regular season. It sounds like heresy for an old-school guy like me to admit that (and I'm sure I'm going to hear about it from some of my old buddies who read my blogs!) but it's true. If I was still playing, I'd probably still hate it and say it has no place in the game because it's not real hockey. When the shootout was first introduced in 2005-06, I hated it on principle. Since then, I have come to enjoy it.

Why? It's all about suspense and tension. As a fan, that's why I watch hockey. I enjoy the one-on-one matchups of shooter skill versus goalie skill. I love that it's a high-pressure situation for the participants. I love and appreciate the flashes of creativity, as players do things I could hardly have dreamed of doing as a player much less executing on the ice.

I doubt that I'm the only one who secretly hopes in the last minute of OT that neither team scores, so the game will move to a shootout. I've heard plenty of friends grumble "As far I'm concerned, this game was a tie, and the skills competition gimmick point is a fake finish."

Funny thing, though: they never turn off the television or get up from their seat and leave when the buzzer sounds on a scoreless overtime. They keep right on watching.

3) I like the skill and pace of the games. I admit that I'm a little jealous, but I like it. I just wish that I could have kept up with the NHL game at the pace it is played today. Same thing with the skill level of today's players. Even the players who aren't considered stars are extremely skilled.

Today's players on the bottom half of the roster, even the ones on the weaker teams, are often bigger, faster and more skilled than my contemporaries. These are incredible athletes. The guys from my era who were considered to be fitness fanatics would be just average -- right in the middle of the NHL fitness chart -- by today's standards.

4) I like the fans, and being a fan. As a player, you can feed off the energy of the crowd. The electricity of the atmosphere and the emotional investment that fans put into the putcome pushed you to work that much harder. Nowadays, as a fan, I love being part of that atmosphere. It doesn't even have to be hockey. I love watching other sports, too, and developing a rooting interest.

I also really appreciate how much being a fan is a family bonding experience. Sons and daughters go to games with their dads and moms, and come to root for the same teams. It's something that brings families together and bridges the generation gap.

Fandom also breaks down communal, political and social barriers. Ever see total strangers high-five and even embrace after a huge win for the team? Ever see people of all races, colors and creeds rejoice together at a championship parade? This is sports at its best.

5) I like the players. Hockey is lucky. For most of its history, the majority of the top players in the NHL have also been good people off the ice. From Gordie Howe and Gump Worsley to Bobby Orr and Bobby Clarke and from Wayne Gretzky and Steve Yzerman to Sidney Crosby and Shea Weber, the game is filled with people who remember where they came from and kind-hearted people off the ice.

Most hockey players have a strong attachment to their adopted communities and understand that they represent the game. They take it seriously, and this is something that has NOT changed over time. That is not always the case with other sports.

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