How did the rules for hockey change from 1900 to now?

Answer 1

The evolution of rule changes in hockey over the past 108 years could fill a book (and has). As a rudimentary answer, hockey in 1900 was played seven players to a side, not six, and played in two thirty-minute halves, not in three twenty-minute periods. No forward passing was allowed. Goaltenders were required to stay on their feet to block shots, and not allowed to drop to the ice. Offside rules and penalties were radically different. Hockey in 1900 was strictly an amateur game -- professionalism was not a factor. The rules of the game did not change overnight, but have been adjusted in small ways and large many many times over many years. See Related Links (below) for a couple of books that cover the evolution of rule changes in much more detail: