GMs to discuss size of goalie equipment

[EddyBeers]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

^ the goalie on the right is Jose Theodore

Ya, you can tell by the thick head of hair.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by EddyBeers

The material in the new pads makes the butterfly way easier too. The old leather pads would weigh 15 pounds more by the end of the game than at the start, making it very difficult to play a butterfly style.

Yeah it's no comparison. I remember the old stuff being heavy especially when wet but my brother's new stuff weighs virtually nothing in comparison. Even the trappers are massive and lighter compared to the ones we used in the 80's.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by AR_Six

I believe that the goaltender's union counter argument to all of this is generally "you can take away our giant pads when you outlaw the sticks that allow guys like Chara to shoot the puck 108 miles an hour."

If players will go down to block the same shots at close range and without all the goalie equipment, then I don't see the issue.

[you got PHANUEFED]

Expand the nets a few inches and no one will be crying over pads

[calgaryred]

Originally Posted by you got PHANUEFED

Expand the nets a few inches and no one will be crying over pads

no way

[Frequitude]

Originally Posted by calgaryred

no way

I hate to admit it, but this may be the only way out...if you want change in the first place that is.

You can't shrink the equipment when snapshots are approaching 180 km/hr.

[Username: Flames]

Originally Posted by Huntingwhale

So you're mad because they are good positionally and make the saves look easy? Ok then.

I'm annoyed that this goalies have giant padding that takes up the whole net. Thanks the nice post.

[calgaryred]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

I hate to admit it, but this may be the only way out...if you want change in the first place that is.

You can't shrink the equipment when snapshots are approaching 180 km/hr.

Tell that to the players that block the shots with their bodies

[Coach]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

I've never played goal, but I've wondered, when a goalie goes down on his knees, why are his pads not under him like this


but rather flared out on the sides, forming a 12 inch high wall on the ice like this


in the second picture, the goallie's shins are on the ice, not facing the camera, yet the pads are. How does that happen?

The goalie in the second picture is in the butterfly position whereas Richter (i think) has his legs directly under him, probably to squeeze a puck trying to go 5-hole. Either way the point stands that the gear is too big.

And just say no to bigger nets. Luongo said he would quit if that happened and I honestly wouldn't blame him or any other current goalie. They have played their whole lives training a certain way to protect a net of a certain size, and whether the gear is helping them or not, they are the best in the world at it. As soon as you change the dimensions of the net you change the angles that goalies have to play and completely change how they have to guard the net. Its like telling players they score too much so they have to use flat sticks. Or that basketball players can dunk too easily now so they're raising the height of the net. Im all for smaller gear though.

Side note: In the picture of Richter the tops of his knees are fully exposed. I dont know if he's wearing anything there but taking a 100mph slapshot on the knee would kill and probably has a chance to do some serious damage. I dont think it would be hard to design a "knee blocker" which im pretty sure most pads already have that does become part of the pad when the goalie stands up.

[gargamel]

Originally Posted by calgaryred

Tell that to the players that block the shots with their bodies

No player in the league blocks more than about 3 shots per game, so that's not really a fair comparison. I agree with your general point, though, that the pads don't need to be so big as to completely eliminate the possibility that a goalie will ever feel a puck.

[puckluck2]

If they ever change the size of nets I will be very tempted to not watch the NHL again.

[squiggs96]

I'd prefer to see the NHL go 4 on 4 all of the time instead of widening the nets. I think OT hockey is way more exciting, even without the sudden death of it.

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

Originally Posted by calgaryred

Tell that to the players that block the shots with their bodies

There are dozens of players each year who get injured blocking shots though. Plus most players block shots with their pads in a sliding motion while goaltenders utilize their pads as well as their chests in order to block shots.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by gargamel

No player in the league blocks more than about 3 shots per game, so that's not really a fair comparison. I agree with your general point, though, that the pads don't need to be so big as to completely eliminate the possibility that a goalie will ever feel a puck.

Bullet proof armour doesnt take up the space that goalie equipment does. As long as the goalie is covered and protected that is all that should matter. The extra padding coming out to the sides and off the wrist of the catcher is there for no other reason than to block more net. Theyre not protecting anything. And I think that is the problem. The goalie gear is supposed to protect the goalie, not block as much of the net as possible.

[Komskies]

Originally Posted by puckluck2

If they ever change the size of nets I will be very tempted to not watch the NHL again.

Remember when the Sabres and Regier proposed these monstrosities?



/killmenow!

[troutman]

Originally Posted by Frequitude

I hate to admit it, but this may be the only way out...if you want change in the first place that is.

You can't shrink the equipment when snapshots are approaching 180 km/hr.

MacInnis, Brett Hull etc could really shoot the puck, and I don't remember any serious injuries to goalies then.

There is only anecdotal evidence that the new sticks shoot the puck harder. The only academic research I could find so far, showed that wood sticks perform no worse than the new sticks (U of C).

[Coach]

Originally Posted by troutman

MacInnis, Brett Hull etc could really shoot the puck, and I don't remember any serious injuries to goalies then.

There is only anecdotal evidence that the new sticks shoot the puck harder. The only academic research I could find so far, showed that wood sticks perform no worse than the new sticks (U of C).

Not to mention, the guys chosen profession is to have rubber disc whipped at him at high speeds. Will it hurt sometimes? Probably. They chose this. If the goalie is worried about that they should probably find a different sport. Or at least a different position.

[opendoor]

I'm curious what people level of scoring people are hoping to achieve with equipment reductions since the current rate is right in line with historical patterns.

Since the early 1930s the NHL has consistently seen about 4.50 to 6.50 goals per game with two notable exceptions. World War II saw a very brief jump into the 7 and 8 goals per game range and the late '70s and '80s period that was marked by rapid expansion where we saw similar totals to WWII. In the other 65 or so years scoring has pretty consistently been between 4.50 and 6.50 goals per game with the current NHL and its roughly 5.60 G/G right in the middle.

For me, it's scoring chances not goals that are exciting. Seeing a bunch of unscreened shots from 50 feet out going in isn't going to make things more interesting.

[CaptainCrunch]

Originally Posted by troutman

MacInnis, Brett Hull etc could really shoot the puck, and I don't remember any serious injuries to goalies then.

There is only anecdotal evidence that the new sticks shoot the puck harder. The only academic research I could find so far, showed that wood sticks perform no worse than the new sticks (U of C).

I remember AL winding up on a Canucks goalie (McLean?) and exploding his face mask, Brett Hull was more of a wrist shot guy, but even in the masked era his old man was regularly killing goalies.

One big change in goalie equipment in recent years was the outlawing of the spider man webbing on the chest protector between the torso and the arms. Loungo was a huge fan of that one.

But in the age of the lighter and smaller Kevlar bullet proof vests I'm amazed that the NHL hasn't looked into that material.

A bullet proof vest is smaller then a goalies chest guard.

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by MattyC

Not to mention, the guys chosen profession is to have rubber disc whipped at him at high speeds. Will it hurt sometimes? Probably. They chose this. If the goalie is worried about that they should probably find a different sport. Or at least a different position.

Goalies are the most protected and safest players in the game.

I also hate the idea of making nets bigger though. It's not like the goalie's height or length of body or limbs is the issue. Making it more difficult to reach with the glove or blocker doesn't accomplish anything except possibly causing goalies to strain their muscles more.