Wings' Draper hopes 'trap' leaves NHL

I love articles like this that depict "the trap" as a defensive hockey strategy that employs illegal obstruction tactics (e.g. clutching, grabbing, and hooking). Teams that clutch and grab aren't really using "the trap". They're making up for not really understanding how to play good defense, in my opinion. The offensive players beat them and they have to compensate with illegal tactics.

The real "trap" strategy is all about cutting off passing lanes and using legal checking to impede the progress of the puck carrier. That's what it has always been about, and that's what it will still be about when the new NHL rules take place. I think it's funny that articles like the one above are trying to predict how teams like the Wild are going to suffer with the new rules and how they'll need to adapt to the new rules. Teams like the Wild who never used illegal tactics in the first place will still be able to use the trap and will be able to shut down offenses that want to take advantage of the new rules.

It'll be another season when Mario Lemeiux is disgusted with the Wild franchise for playing a defensive style. The new NHL rules will reward creative offense - not penalize a conservative defense. Until the rules actually penalize a defensive strategy (or somehow make it illegal), the trap won't go away.