Obstruction as a cause for Little, White, Kozlov slumps?

All throughout the Ducks-Thrashers game, Dan Kamal was saying the NHL is allowing more and more obstruction penalties go. Which makes me wonder... Could all these hooks and holds be a large part of why Slava Kozlov and Todd White and Bryan Little, all three fairly small guys who, in a wide-open league, would need to showcase skating or veteran craftiness in order to overcome their small statures. Also, in order to pick up a good number of assists, the players who would be skating into the open space into which White, Little or Kozlov might be passing would need to be able to arrive at said open ice. Should either the passer or the recipient be held up, it would mean the passing lane would be gone and it might even eliminate a quality scoring chance. It could also add unexpected wear and tear to the (older) bodies of White and Kozlov, which could be part of why they've both been slow and therefore scratched a few times.

Just something to think about. I doubt there's any way to prove it, but it's something that has my interest.