Why Has The Slap Shot Gone ‘Extinct’ in NHL Hockey? 

I kind of miss the slap shots being more frequent. Nothing like seeing someone just absolutely laser a puck with perfect accuracy in the net. Watching the Hawks back when they won the cups they had very good defensemen who would throw slap shots from the points all day.

We must mention Al MacInnis and Al Iafrate - two of the hardest shots in history (wooden sticks of course).

Gretzky had a great and tricky slap shot. He constantly changed the timing of his shot, which made it unpredictable and basically unstoppable.

I'd be interested in seeing stats on the average Slapshot speed vs wrist shot speed over the last 20-30 years. I wouldn't be surprised that with improved technique and stick technology the speed of wrist shots has gotten closer to slapshots

As a Canucks fan, I remember when Daniel Sedin suddenly developed a slap shot over an off-season and it was pretty lethal.

The function of the slap is to bend the stick against the ice. With the old wooden sticks you simply had to do that to get the stick to flex, because they were so stiff. With modern sticks you don't need as much power to bend the stick so you can just do a snap shot instead.

Bobby Hull and Guy Lafleur were the best at scoring with the slapshot, combining power and accuracy.

Brett Hull was the Ben Hogan of slap shots. If you want to learn how to use proper form for a clapper, watch Brett Hull. I’d say Ovi is the top just because of how many goals he’s scored off a slapper. Nick Lidstrom had a very effective slap shot. Daniel Alfredsson, Stamkos, Yzerman, Mathew Schneider, all had awesome shots.

I’ll never forget Colton Parayko’s slapshot that hit Ben Bishop like a 12-gauge

What I find interesting in this whole "slapshots are extinct" talk is that in that chart showing the decline of the slapshot, the reduction from 2012 to 2020 is only about 30%. That is definitely a statistically significant change, but far from extinct. All your points about why the viable use case has reduced were spot on though. I think an underrated element of slap shots is using that huge telegraph of "i'm going to shoot" to your advantage with a slap pass. I've seen it done to great effect, where a defenseman winds up for the big shot and then hammers the puck onto the stick of a teammate waiting 2 feet off the side of the net for an easy tip-in goal. Any time there is an expectation, there is also an opportunity to subvert that expectation, and that may be one of my favorite things in sports, seeing players deliberately use expectations to their advantage.

Ovi is the modern era slapshot king, but I loved Weber's blueline slappers and Pasta has a beautiful onetimer too.

That Kariya goal was iconic. Would’ve loved to have seen Stevie Ys clapper against the blues on here too

This breakdown was top notch dude. Ovi is #1 for me but Chara could literally kill a man

The increasing rarity of the slapshot seems to have added a demoralizing factor to scoring with it. The way goalies slump down after getting beat clean with pure power is different than for other shots.

ahh the good ole days when walking into a slapshot from the point was the meta play

One of my favorite moments of a hockey game as a kid was when bedlam broke out down in the slot and the puck jittered free slowly toward the blue line; those were the moments I was hoping some ambitious D-man would come out from off-screen to lay every ounce of weight in his body into the puck.

Al MacInnis has the best and most feared slapshot of all time.

Chara, holder of the hardest-hitting slapshot.

Paul Kariya's slapper vs the Devils was insane, especially considering he didn't even remember the game due to suffering the concussion right before.

Honestly if modern hockey just means its more expensive while missing parts of the game that have been there since the beginning, then I don't think we need it. I've recently watched games from 10-20 years ago, so 2013-2003 and I can honestly say it's just a better version of hockey without a doubt

I remember Bobby Hull and maskless goalies. He said he’d send one in, around face high, early in the game just to get in the goalie’s head

As a Habs fan, I already miss Weber's slapshot. This was deadly good!!

Best slapshot of all time... I probably would like to say someone else for their shear power or for whatever other niche quality, but not saying Ovi here would just not be honest. He is so persistent and effective from the circle that it's just bonkers. Every goalie _knows_ exactly what's coming, yet a blistering fast pass from Carlson, Oshie or Bäckström and Ovi just keeps hammering them in, year after year. You're free say what you want, but I can't get past that.

I think one of the best slap shots was Shea Weber's. Dude had the HARDEST shot in the world

Al Macinnis, still the best clapper

Brett Hull made me want to learn how to take a slap shot when I was playing hockey as a kid. Guy had a rifle of a shot.

I have loved watching Stammer's one timers through the years, but Ovi is probably king of the Slapper.

Best of all-time is obviously Ovechkin.

Hardest slap shot of all time - Dennis Hull. Best slap shot of all time - Bobby Hull.

Ovechkin is almost certainly the best pure shooter hockey has ever seen up to this point, especially considering how much goaltending has improved since the 80s.

I imagine the speed and power of wrist/snap shots has increased substantially as well, making them a higher value per time spent shooting than they used to be.

When I think of an NHL player taking a slapshot, I think of former Canuck Sami Salo.

ovi has the best slapshot of all time and it's not even close. Every goalie and player know it's coming from the exact position but somehow the Rocket Richard Trophy, should be called the OVI, is always won by Ovi due to his lethal slapper.

This is an awesomely edited video and great and easy to understand. You my good man, deserve a sub.

When talking about the most feared slapshot of all time, it has to be Al MacInnis. He could unload his epic cannon from the point with wrist shot accuracy and even do it with a quick 1 timer. Even as the NHL entered The Dead Puck Era in the mid to late 90s, he could still get those bombs through and goalies still had a hard time stopping them clean, leaving a lot of clean Al MacInnis point shot goals and juicy rebounds for those slot crashers to bang in there.

MacInnis, Iafrate or Ovechkin. Depends on the era and what kind (slap vs 1T), PP or on the rush? I’m a sucker for an on the rush slapper but Ovy is staring at Gretzky’s record with that usual, predictable 1T that teams have a hard time defending against for a multitude of years. It’s only a matter of time till we recognize that not only there’s a Gretzky’s office but there’s also an Ovy’s office that deserves that level of respect

Watching Blackhawks hockey in the 70's as a kid, the defenseman slapshot was big stuff.

Awesome break down! Ovi is all time best, hands down. Brett Hull had the best slap shot prior to Ovi. Iggy was amazing considering his era and adding to the fact that his first 525 goals happened without a single future Hall of Famer on his team.

I was sitting a few rows behind the glass in Florida when Brett Hull wound up a ripped a one timer over Luongo's shoulder in OT, 2003. That was a sight to behold.

Love your channel ! Alwayhs goes deep in game analysis instead of focusing exclusively on players stats! That's what makes it special.

I wish you had included video of "The Greatest Slap Shot (that didn't count)" - Patrick Kane's OT "Winner" against the Vegas Knights (Feb. 21, 2023) : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Cj594MlKltI.html It's because of shots like Kaner's that fans love the game.

this is giving me massive Thinking Basketball vibes. I was looking for a channel like that for hockey, so glad I found you

You mentioned stick technology...I'm an '84 birthdate, and I remember all of our coaches played with stiff sticks and shafts and preached the slap shot, so that's what we did too. Sticks with more flex just weren't popular back in the late 90s and 00s, regardless of how much you weighed. One day, we received some pro return Brett Hull Z-Bubble shafts at the hockey store I worked at. These things were probably the equivalent of a 65 flex. Guys flocked to buy them, only to break them on the first use. That was when I realized Hull was one of the first guys to let the stick do the work for him, and now you see that everywhere in the show, especially with guys like McDavid and Bedard. Modern sticks provide the flex and kick point to fire the puck now, so there is no need for a big clapper to get the puck going like there used to be with mega-stiff wood, aluminum, and composite shafts.

Gretzky actually talked about this as far as back as in the 80's. He mentioned having a quick release being more important than pure power slapshots, because what good is power when it takes an eternity to load up?

With goalies better than ever today (with bigger pads as well) , I think accuracy and quick release are much more important than power. Also, on average there is not really a ton of additional velocity provided by a slap shot vs a wrist shot IMO, at least with modern sticks.

Bobby Hull ( Black Hawks ) and Bill Goldsworthy ( MN. N. Stars ) Very Hard Shots. I Really enjoy your outlook on the game it's refreshing and with your allotted time straight to the point, Really Good Channel keep up the Great work.

New composite sticks with the low kick points let you get so much power in the (snap)shot, that you don`t need to tee it up to the horizon anymore. You can get so much energy in that it`s almost a slapshot, while the quick release makes it way harder for the goalie to read. You can still see the slap shots but mostly one timers during PP.

The slapshot took over in the early 60s with Boom-Boom Geffrion, Bobby Hull and Frank Mahovalich leading the way with the most booming shots using solid sticks, no flex. You had to connect squarely with the puck. Jamming your stick into the ice and hoping it wouldn't break didn't work. The most amazing slapshot ever taken was by Maple Leaf's Frank Mahovalich. Against Boston in the mid-60s, crossing the blue line facing goalie Eddie Johnston. Frank a tall guy, wound up as only Frank could, and let fly. Eddie knew what was coming, had time to get set and he caught the puck easily. But the shot was so hard, it knocked him on his ass and into the net. This was before there were face-masks. All slapshots were fearsome. It took real courage in those days to face a slapshot. no one knew whether the goalie would live if he stopped the puck with his face. They did too. when they did, there they'd be, out cold on the ice. they'd be hauled off the ice on a gurney. Everyone waited to hear whether he made it. Then we'd be told he was okay. Minutes later, he'd skate back out and keep playing like nothing happened. Johnny Bower was the most famous for that, but all NHL goalies in that era went through it. That aspect of life threatening danger made those slapshots an order of magnitude more exciting than any since masks came into play. By the end of Bower's career, his face looked like a road map from all the stitches.

Buddy I love your videos, keep it up!

Was Orr the only player to use the half-slapper effectively? I remember seeing him wind up for a slap shot, wait for the defender to flinch, move by him and only bring his stick back parallel to the ice, then let 'er rip, often into the net.

Great video! You always bring up topics that I noticed but never really thought about. Speed and spacing is the biggest difference now for lack of slappers. Plus, when you miss, you generally lose possession.

Biggest bomb from the point? Shea Weber. It used to terrify me watching my team play the Preds when Weber was winding up a clapper...he could legitimately hurt people.

Marc-André Bergeron Despite a small size he could make shots rivaling some of the greats 103-105/mph if i recall correctly, it was very impressive to see, sadly that small size if compared to other defenseman, or power forwards he had to deal with, visibly limited his abilities defensively which limited his ice time, so he became a 3rd pairing/7th defenseman power play specialists. Still 82 goals in 490 games with limited ice time is nothing to sneeze at.

Best all time with one-timers? Brett Hull, Ilya Kovalchuk, Steven Stamkos. Just lethal.

You do a great job explaining all of your videos. Very Nice!

Gosh so many amazing rifleman over my 40 years of watching the game! My personal favorite has been big John Leclair, especially during his Philly years. That massive back swing and his strength and accuracy was legendary and just so fun to watch!! 226lbs entering the left zone and full stride and just cranking it +100mph was always exciting! Honorable mention to Al M, Freddy Modin and about 50 others!

I've been tell my youth players for at least two or 3 years now to quit trying to take clappers for all the reasons that you laid out. I also learned that every tenth of a second you can get the shot off can be like adding 5-7 mph on that snap or wrister. I've spent a lot of time researching this and been coaching hockey for the past 8 years and as a full time job for the last 5. Good video, thanks

So ironic that the first goal you showed was Kariya scoring after he was knocked out by Stevens, and then asking "Do you remember?" because Kariya HIMSELF doesn't even remember that goal. He blacked out for days after the hit! I believe he also said he doesn't even remember Game 7!

i love seeing them, ekholm had a really nice one for his first as an oiler this season

“…unless your shot is perfect, or you’re Alex Ovechkin…” Brilliant.

I love the "time and space" hockeyism. That's all. That's my comment.

Yzerman's G7 OT slap shot to end the 96 series against the Blues might be one of the most lethal slappers I've ever witnessed.

As a casual hockey fan, watching the caps set up ovi for a slapshot off the power play is always exciting!

As a Caps fan... I can't help but enjoy the "This applies to everyone not named Alex Ovechkin"

The STICKS a flexible stick not so good a slapshot a hard stick won't bend for snapshot chara used a 130-150 and it still would bend where some guys use 70

good video

I remember watching the all star game as a kid and during the skills competition they’d have a slap shot contest. Watching iafrate and macinnis hit shots over 100mph was a hoot back in the day. I used to look forward to it.

It's not just the speed of the game it's also stick technology making wrist/snap shots almost as powerful as slap shots and combine that with the fact they're far more accurate it makes them a better tool.

Ridley Greig sends his regards.

For d-men....Sheldon Souray when he could play was devastating, look at the video of that season where he scored 26 with Montreal or 23 with Edmonton. From when I was younger....Brett Hull's and Al MacInnis' were the most impossible to see slapshots that also happened to be hella accurate....and lastly, as Nords fan, Owen Nolan's was BRUTAL.

Not that it's a major reason, but sticks as well... If you look at Bauer and CCM (and others), they specialized their with a flex and kick point favoring a certain type of shot. They do have "hybrid" sticks that fall somewhere in the middle, but they're a bit less common. It's a big heavy piece of lumber from the likes of Sherwood where they really were just meant to stand up to the punishment the players dished out. Now they really dial in the stick to match and enhance their strengths

mackinnon is also good on the left wing for the "ovie" one timer set up. Ovi has the best clapper though, the stats dont lie. i wish they would implement a one timer competition in the all star events would be interesting to see speeds and accuracy. Its just a staple in todays game.

Zdeno Chara had a bomb of slapahot

I I has the best of all time, but Thompson is the best today

Awesome video buddy! Very well done!

When I was younger I went to go see a Lightning game in person and during warm ups Vinny Lecavalier ripped a slap shot that ricocheted off the glass and left an earth rumbling feel throughout the arena.

Did you forget how scoring has gone down over the years since the slapshot was used only rarely? Your video left out the amazing excitement of booming slapshots in hockey games. Look how often breakaways result in no goals since the slapshot has almost disappeared.

I ain’t watched shinny since ‘99. No clue how this got in my feed. *BUT* … what a TALENTED writer/speaker this kid is, and I’m no cheap date! Great work, buddy! 👏👏🤘

the name of your channel do not deceive. another great in depth analysis!

that first one was not only an awesome slap shot, but considering that earlier the same game he was knocked out with a jaw shot and concust, people there didnt expect him to continue playing the match or even the season, but he came out and did that

I have felt like is was missing something watching hockey the last few seasons. I think the slap shots, particularly from the blue line, are it. Thanks for pointing it out.

The days of Guy Lafleur and Mike Bossy skating over the blue line and letting go of a slapper are gone. Goalies back then didn't have the huge pads they wear today, so it was easier back then to blow the puck past a goalie. Also, like the video says defensemen are a lot faster and better coached nowadays. Like all other sports hockey is changing with the times.

As a goalie it’s so much easier to read a slap shot. Snap shots and wrist shots are released quicker and harder to gage. Snapshots behind a screen are probably the hardest shot to react to. A slap shot with a screen, at least you know a shot is coming.

St. Louisan here. I loved Hull's one-timers or his low slappers from right wing on a rush, but I remember cringing in fear almost every time I saw MacInnis load one up from in close. Frightening. Beating Osgood from center ice with an absolute laser is something I'll never forget. And his overall point totals say something as well. Lots of knuckleheads had big slapshots but weren't terribly productive.

Great video man!

I know next to nothing about Hockey but that was fascinating, very informative, abd obviously well researched. 😊

I absolutely adored Brett Hull's slapshot. Once I think he even injured an opposing goalie's hand with it. Then there is Chara's iconic slapshot shootout move. The guy had a monstrous release. And let's not forget Peter Bondra's Patented Power Play Point Blast - a worthy harbinger of Ovi's.

I watched Stan Smyl's whole career from his arrival to the New Westminster Bruins as a 15 year old to his retirement from the Canucks. Stan had a massive slap shot for a not very big man. I recall many, many times seeing him cross the blue-line and blast a shot past a goalie.

For OG beercan trick shot artists like myself, a finessed wrist shot is a thing of beauty.

Honestly surprised Steve Yzerman's clapper against the Blues to win game 7 in double OT. Gary Thorne: "Gretzky had it, lost it" Steve Yzerman proceeds to wind up an absolute piss missle from the blue line and scores lol

When I was watching hockey all the time, my favorite player was sami salo. The huge slapshots from the point were so sick. Miss the days when the canucks were good and slapshot were also good.

The last one i remember seeing is Malkin on a penalty shot or shootout. Can't remember but that was a thing of beauty

A slept on slap shot is Tomas Vanek, legendary shootout slappers

Ovi, Stamkos, Weber and Chara are ofc the kings of slapshots but others were quite solid like Maclnnis or Brett Hull!!

The blazing slap shot is more fun to watch even if it is stopped but todays players are just on a different caliber than years ago. I played goal in the 1970s and the entire game today is faster and much more precise. Even the goaltending today is so much more advanced. These guys today are so good at finding the 4 corners of the net - it is amazing.

One of the best slapshots of recent memory (at least for me) was Ilya Lybushkin vs Tampa in OT. Keep in mind this was short-handed and Booshers 4th ever goal to beat a team that dominated him every year

Stevie Y had that game 7 slap shot vs the Blues. Such a beauty

One thing you forgot to mention is that slapshots USE to offer a lot of fat rebounds so even if your shot didn't go in it could be chipped in by a screening player. The way most goalie pads are now as soon as the puck hits them it pretty much dies making rebounds a less efficient way of scoring goals. Couple that with the fact that most wrist shots today can reach blistering speeds that rivaled the speed old school slapshots could go it just makes the wrister a better overall choice

I remember watching Shea Weber highlights and my dad was amazed how hard his slapshots were.

I personally am happy about this because I could never get a good slap shot off consistently. I always used a wrist shot even from the point because it was my best shot.