pretty much DON'T agree with any of this
According to your POV, today's players are larger, tougher, faster, and better protected. As a result they are injured MORE? Where's the logic in that?
Assuming your point is accurate, regarding size, the players then had to contend with more lax rules, less gear and were held accountable on ice for the behavior. Back then if you did something that crossed a line, you had to answer for it. No one has to worry about that today.
From my perspective, today's player doesn't have to answer for their actions, and therefore respect is out the window. You can cheap shot just about anyone you want, whenever you want, and the worse you might face is a suspension. And based on who you are, or who you play for at the time, will determine that suspension. Just ask Todd Bertuzzi. He proved you can break a guy's neck and end his career, and you will still keep yours.
Today its a business. Players are paid huge sums of money. They all have highly sophisticated agents, who will tell them to sit out and protect their future earnings. Loyalty to franchises and cities no longer exist. Today is all about contracts. And I'm pretty sure that Gordie Howe wouldn't have changed a damn thing. That guy loved the game and was a warrior. Players of his era played through injuries, with zero regard for what the future held. I'd bet significant money, that if you gave Gordie a choice between playing game 7 of an SC final, knowing it would be his last, or sitting out and living a long happy life, we'd see him taking the faceoff