Quote:
Originally Posted by Textcritic
How many more "nice" goals (whatever those are) will be scored on very slightly larger nets?
I maintain that an artificial increase in scoring will not make the game any more exciting. Any increase achieved by larger nets is almost certain to be marginal, and will not improve in any way the quality of play, which is what much more directly corresponds to the excitement of the game.
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This isn't true. One could argue that what we have now is an artificial decrease in goals partially due to unchecked and illegitimate growth in goalie dimensions. I agree with you from the point of view that the 'ideal' solution is a bigger ice surface so that skill players have room to make skill plays. That said, the NHL won't be mandating retrofitting of rinks. So, what are the practical alternatives to improving the game because hockey circa 2015 is pretty boring? I don't get the conclusion that an increase in net size 'is almost certain to be marginal'. Widening the net by 6 inches and raising the bar by 4 would force goalies to remain on their skates more and mostly remove the ability to block the entire bottom of the net just by dropping to their knees. Step in the right direction imo.