[Kidder]

Just like any position in any sport the goaltender has evolved his game and his equipment to optimize his performance.

The difference being the goalie lacked so far behind his skating counterparts until the late 80's when the proper care and focus was delegated to the position. Before then it was pretty much put the crazy guy in net who was willing to stand infront of a frozen puck with inadequate protection.

No surprise this post arises after last night's display. Mike Smith is so large and technically sound it looks like he barely moves, and I agree it is frustrating from an opposing fan's perspective.

There's a lot of hypocrisy in the goaltender discussion now a days though. We have gotten accustomed to goalies being impenetrable and rip them apart on almost every goal that gets by. Perfect example, the final goal in our 5-2 loss to St. Louis. Perron cuts across the middle, using the defenceman as a screen and rips a wrister top corner just under the bar. "Mcdonald needs to have that one."

We all adopt the philosophy that our team should be able to score more goals with greater ease... but our goalie better not let any more in.

Is goalie equipment too large? Yes. You could certainly trim off inches on every piece of equipment and still leave the goaltender fully protected.

But the bigger key is keeping a handle on obstruction. Nothing wrong with a fantastic goaltenders duel. As long as the offense is able to generate quality chances and force the goaltender to make athletic saves it makes for good hockey. Goals don't necessarily = more excitement. A tight, back and forth 3-2 game is far more entertaining than a 9-4 game.

I'm shocked Cowperson hasn't appeared in this thread yet to share his statistic how historically the NHL has operated with an average GPG of 5.5. Change the game or goalies as you like, it always finds a way back to the mark.

The future of the game is 6'5" masked men with incredible fitness and flexibility using the largest sized equipment they are allowed. That's inevitable. It need not ruin the game though. Offenses will need to adapt and expose the weaknesses. Something the Flames did a poor job of doing last night.