Mike Liut shudders when he thinks of the NHL in the 1980s.

"Everybody had scoring," recalls Liut, who was one of the premier goalies in the '80s. "There was a lot of offence, a lot of offence."

The 1980s marked a significant change in the NHL. The '80s followed what was the most tumultuous decade in hockey history. Numerous leagues folded in the 1970s, others started up, failed, and when the dust settled, the NHL was still standing. The '70s were also known for the old-school goon tactics, and the Broadstreet Bullies -- the Philadelphia Flyers – were the most feared team in the League because of their physical style.

The '80s was a time when the offensive side of the game evolved. With the addition of four teams from the World Hockey Association, the NHL became a 21-team league. And it was the youngest of the WHA’s star players who proved to be the greatest NHL player of all, Wayne Gretzky.

"The Great One" cometh and hockey has never been the same.

Gretzky led the up-tempo, offensive-minded Edmonton Oilers, simultaneously thrilling fans and terrorizing netminders in the process. The emphasis on the attack took its toll on goalies of that era.

"Everybody was on the same page and it was all about offence," says Liut, now a lawyer who represents NHL players. "Instead of trying to stop Edmonton, we were trying to play like Edmonton and it was damn near impossible."

Consider this: There were seven players who hit 100-plus points plateau in 1978-79 and two seasons later, there were 12. Gretzky had 200-plus points three times in the '80s and there was only one season – 1986-87 – when the number of players in triple digits in scoring was under 10.

Grant Fuhr is best remembered for being the goalie that backstopped the Oilers to five Stanley Cups in the heyday of run-and-gun hockey.

Besides Gretzky, goaltenders had to contend with Quebec's Peter Stastny – who accumulated the second highest points total in the '80s behind Gretzky – Mike Bossy, Marcel Dionne, Denis Savard, Paul Coffey, Michel Goulet, Kent Nilsson, Jari Kurri and Bernie Federko to name but a few of the brilliant scorers who dominated the score sheets during the 1980s.

Grant Fuhr is best remembered for being the goalie that backstopped the Oilers to five Stanley Cups in the heyday of run-and-gun hockey. He played on a team that regularly outscored opponents instead of shutting them down. He won the NHL's Vezina Trophy for outstanding goaltender in 1987-88, leading the NHL in games played, wins and shutouts. He also set a scoring record, registering 14 assists in 1983-84. He’s seventh on the all-time list with 403 wins over 19 seasons.

"I just held the fort until somebody came back," joked Fuhr about playing goal on the offensively-gifted Oilers who were stocked with the likes of Gretzky, Jari Kurri, Paul Coffey and Mark Messier. "Coffey was back for the third rebound. I got 14 assists, but all I had to do was kick the puck out into the traffic pattern because you knew there would be guys going through there."

The '80s also will be remembered for great dynasties. The New York Islanders started the '80s with their first of four straight Stanley Cup championships. They beat Edmonton in four games in 1983, but the Oilers got revenge the following year, winning their first Cup in five games over the Islanders. The Oilers made it two straight in 1985, but a year later, a rookie goalie by the name of Patrick Roy shocked the hockey world by leading the upstart Montreal Canadiens to a Cup title in 1986. The '86 Cup Final also marked the debut of Brett Hull, who was with the Calgary Flames. He hit the post behind Roy on his very first shot in the NHL.

The New York Islanders started the '80s with their first of four straight Stanley Cup championships.

But the Oilers were back on top in 1987 and 1988, giving them four Cups in five years. The Oilers were the measuring stick for all comers and their success also helped turn the Battle of Alberta into one of the greatest rivalries of all times. The games between the Calgary Flames and Oilers were on par on many levels – physically and emotionally – as the contests between the New York Rangers and Islanders, the Rangers and the Philadelphia Flyers. There was much more at stake when Edmonton was in Calgary or the Oilers played host to the Flames.

"I vividly remember the Battle of Alberta," recalls former Flames coach Terry Crisp, who now works as a broadcaster with the Nashville Predators. "The fans were into it. The players were into it and we knew when we were going to play them. But no matter who came in to Calgary or Edmonton, the one thing you can’t avoid, was the fierce competition."

Rivalries were the thing in the 1980s.

The Stastny brothers, Peter, Anton and Marian, played for the Quebec Nordiques and they were always dangerous when they were on the ice.

"I was in the Norris Division and when I was in St. Louis, those home-and-home, back-to-back games against Chicago were something else," says ex-NHL coach Jacques Demers, who works as a broadcaster in Montreal. "You could not buy a seat. The scalpers had none.

"When I was in Detroit, those games against Toronto were wars. There was more hatred then."

The 1980s also will be remembered as a time when Europeans started to have an impact on NHL clubs. The Stastny brothers, Peter, Anton and Marian, played for the Quebec Nordiques and they were always dangerous when they were on the ice. The Winnipeg Jets had Tomas Steen on a line with Dale Hawerchuk. Hakan Loob was a star in Calgary, while Tomas Sandstrom was making a name for himself with the New York Rangers and Thomas Gradin was a hero in Vancouver.

"The Europeans added a lot to the game," says Crisp.

The '80s also produced what people feel was the greatest hockey ever played in the '87 Canada Cup. Canada played the Soviet Union in a three-game final and each game was decided by a score of 6-5. The Soviets won the first game and Mario Lemieux, on a feed from Gretzky, evened the series in double overtime in Game 2. And it was the Gretzky-Lemieux magic in Game 3 that iced the victory for Canada.

Playing for the Flyers for a decade during the '80s meant witnessing some great rivalries and few, if any, easy games.

"All three games were just tremendous games. It was a thrill for me to play in them," says Dave Poulin, who spent the '80s with the Flyers and now coaches hockey at the University of Notre Dame. "Earlier that year we played Edmonton in the Finals and lost and that was the third time for me in the Final. Coming so close to a Stanley Cup, you just wanted to get over the hump and being on the winning side of the Canada Cup, which is the best hockey I will ever remember, with the champagne in the room was something I will never forget. It was tremendous, tremendous hockey."

When Poulin talks about yesteryear, he remembers the camaraderie and how the business of the game seemed much simpler.

"My memories are teams staying together for a lot longer, players on a team. You would have players that would stay together for seven, eight years and they did not leave for other teams and once you made the team you did not worry about being traded or free agency," he says. "I think that made teams closer because guys were together a lot longer and in today's game, even if you are one of the star players, you are still not sure how long you are going to be in a city.

By the end of the decade, Wayne Gretzky was in Los Angeles and Mario Lemieux (above) was starting to make his rounds as a superstar.

"Everyone had their get together spot on the road. The Flyers' schedule was play Thursday night at home, Saturday on the road and then come back home and play Sunday night at home. So every Friday afternoon the team would leave on a commercial flight and go to the city you were going to and I remember that every time we went through a city, Bob Clarke made sure that the whole team got together at one spot for about an hour or so before they would go off to dinner. But a lot of times it was the whole team that ended up being together for the whole night and we stayed together as lot more than they do now."

Playing for the Flyers for a decade meant that Poulin witnessed some great rivalries and he says there were few, if any, easy games.

"You had the Islanders. There was always the Rangers-Flyers rivalry. Washington was a tough team to play against. You had Quebec that played pretty well and Montreal was always a powerhouse. The Eastern Conference had some great teams and great playoff series."

By the end of the decade, Gretzky was in Los Angeles and Mario Lemieux was starting to make his rounds as a superstar. Brett Hull scored 72 goals in 1989-90 and Steve Yzerman was asserting himself as "The Man" in Motown. Times were changing.

The last word goes to Crisp.

He was asked what the fish stories are like when he tells today's crop of NHLers what the '80s were like.

"We have some great stories and even the kids now, they listen and shake their heads about some of the things that were said and done," he said. "We were talking about how (Oilers coach Craig) MacTavish never had a helmet and I laughed the other day when someone asked him whether he ever considered wearing a visor and he said, 'What did you want me to do, bolt it to my head?’ The guys liked that story."

Those were the days.