Thing is, it's really hard to compare.
In the 80s the style of play was totally different. NHL hockey in the 80's was, arguably, more exciting than even Olympic hockey nowadays. It's simply because players were generally out of shape, coaching was no where near as structured, and goalies sucked balls.
As for 96, that was the dead puck era. Brutal hockey to watch. Sure, the drama and tension was there (Canada vs US and all that), but the hockey itself was brutal. Go back and watch any hockey in the late 90's to early 2000's and you'll hate it now.. Salt Lake was an exception, in my opinion because of the international flavor of the officiating and clutch and grabbing was called a lot more than in the NHL.
At the end of the day, I was simply responding to the ridiculous claim that NHL hockey is "100 times better than the Olympics". In order to compare it properly, you have to compare current NHL vs current Olympics.. or past NHL vs past Olympics.
- Charliebox
The thing is...Canada dominated the last Olympics so much that no one stood a chance. But it was great hockey. 87 Canada Cup was the best.
Nothing at all compares to the Stanley Cup Final when there are 2 strong and determined teams.
