There are several future hall of famers that are still active in the NHL and even other leagues (ie, Jaromir Jagr in the KHL). Records that were thought to be impossible to break like many of Wayne Gretzky's are actually not all that safe when you consider these 20something prodigies that keep coming in and showing the same level of talent that Gretzky showed back then, albeit in a much tougher league with more teams than what Gretzky played in.
Not to mention only 8 points separate 1st and 8th in the Eastern conference right now, which goes to show how close the competition is in the regular season. And while no team has won the Stanley Cup twice in a row in the past decade, a lot of surprises have come along the way, like Carolina winning twice, Tampa getting a cup as well, and Detroit and Pittsburgh ending up as both the finalists two consecutive years.