Report: The NHL & NHLPA have agreed on a goalie pad size reduction

[bluck]

Told NHL gets its 10% reduction on goalie pad knee-to-thigh allowance (~2" avg) but PA balked at enforcing thigh rise separately with 8" max
— Kevin Woodley (@KevinisInGoal) August 7, 2013

New York Rangers goaltender, and probably the best puck stopper in the world at the moment, Henrik Lundqvist already ordered his new shorter pads. He shared a photo of them in Instagram on Wednesday, and expressed uncertainty about how the small equipment might impact his on-ice effectiveness.

http://thescore.com/nhl/articles/124...size-reduction

[SuperMatt18]

Good.

[Ashasx]

And the Canucks have already committed to Luongo.

[Canada 02]

looks inconsequential

[Lanny_McDonald]

Leg pads aren't the issue. The chest and arm protectors are out of control and the gloves have turned into fishing nets. Reduce this equipment and the nets really open up.

[Coach]

Fine by me. The only real problem I have with the goalie gear is the ridiculous height some of these guys have over and above the pants. Also as mentioned above, the "extras" hanging off of arm and body protectors. Other than that there's not much that can or should be done. Scoring levels are fine, and we do have to take into account the ungodly speeds the players shoot at.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by Canada 02

looks inconsequential

2" off each pad is actually pretty good.

Means when a goalie is in butterfly there is now 4" more of the net to shoot at.

In my opinion Pads are likely fine for now, now they need to look at chest protection/shoulder pads as the next area to focus on. A goalie in Butterfly should not be able to cover the entire top half of the net.

[_Q_]

I may be in the minority, but I like low scoring games a hell of a lot more than something like the Philly vs. Pitt series from last year.

[Anduril]

Originally Posted by _Q_

I may be in the minority, but I like low scoring games a hell of a lot more than something like the Philly vs. Pitt series from last year.

Agreed. My issue would be the wall of bodies in front of the net which basically destroy offensive momentum.

[mrdonkey]

I feel a great disturbance in the force...As if millions of Luongos cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.

[Robbob]

Soooo....anyone know off hand the the recapture penalty if Luoungo retired this year? Or did he say he was going to retire if the nets were made bigger. I don't remember which one it was.

[Jay Random]

Originally Posted by _Q_

I may be in the minority, but I like low scoring games a hell of a lot more than something like the Philly vs. Pitt series from last year.

I know I'm in the minority, but I like higher scoring in the league as a whole. More goals per game = higher percentage chance of settling the game in regulation, the way God and Scotty Bowman intended, which = fewer pity points and shootouts to fudge up the standings.

Regular-season OT was introduced to reduce the number of ties, and it failed. The number of ties remained much the same, because teams would rather not risk 1 point for the chance of getting 2.

Then the OTL point was introduced to bribe teams to go for it in OT, and it failed, too. What it did instead (as any student of game theory could predict, and Bowman did) was bribe teams NOT to go for it when the game was tied late in regulation. More games were decided in OT, but more games went to OT, so once again, the number of ties didn't change much.

Then the shootout was introduced to eliminate ties altogether. This solved the original (perceived) problem, but it was a further incentive for teams not to decide games in regulation. The percentage of games decided in regulation time since the shootout was introduced is the lowest in the modern era. (And yes, Bowman predicted that too.)

[SuperMatt18]

I just miss seeing players actually score clean goals.

Swear every goal now is a rebound, screen, deflection etc.

I remember watching Iginla in his 50 goal season in 02/03 just blow shots past goalies (Goal 50 comes to mind immediately) and you rarely see that happen anymore.

Could be that I just watch too many Flames games and we just aren't that good.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by _Q_

I may be in the minority, but I like low scoring games a hell of a lot more than something like the Philly vs. Pitt series from last year.

I don't know but I think there might be a tiny bit of middle ground between those extremes.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

I just miss seeing players actually score clean goals.

Swear every goal now is a rebound, screen, deflection etc.

I remember watching Iginla in his 50 goal season in 02/03 just blow shots past goalies (Goal 50 comes to mind immediately) and you rarely see that happen anymore.

Could be that I just watch too many Flames games and we just aren't that good.

No, you're not imagining things. The issue is that goalie equipment is so big right now, that if a goalie has time to get set up in front of puck, he'll stop it with his wall of pad. Pads have become giant and square pieces designed to fit together to form a wall.

This change in goalie size is a step in the right direction. It's only 2 inches, but it's 2 inches that did not provide any protection to the goalie in any way. It existed only to form the "wall of pad".

Next on the list should be the pads that cover the space between the body and the arm and the pads that extend above the goalie's shoulders. These pads also do not cover or protect the goalies body in any way. The only purpose they serve is to make the pads giant square pieces that fit together.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by _Q_

I may be in the minority, but I like low scoring games a hell of a lot more than something like the Philly vs. Pitt series from last year.

It's not an issue of high vs. low scoring. Modern pads are taking away from athleticism. Good goalies are just giant guys with equally giant pads. Talented players can't score as easily and need to rely on traffic in front of the net.

Basically, a good team is one that get a giant goalie with giant pads and then break the rules just enough in the playoffs to create "traffic" or "grit".

[edn88]

Make goalies wear a hard slick layer on the outside of their pads - or even make them more rounded - make it harder for them to be butterfly goalies (slide around) and harder for them to control rebounds.

Also, why should goalies be allowed to stop play when a puck goes in their glove - sure it look spectucular, but maybe if their was a downside to freezing the puck as a goalie (say no defensive line change), then the puck would be played more. Make the glove another blocking glove, but with little or no ability to stop or control the puck.

[_Q_]

Originally Posted by Jay Random

I know I'm in the minority, but I like higher scoring in the league as a whole. More goals per game = higher percentage chance of settling the game in regulation, the way God and Scotty Bowman intended, which = fewer pity points and shootouts to fudge up the standings.

Regular-season OT was introduced to reduce the number of ties, and it failed. The number of ties remained much the same, because teams would rather not risk 1 point for the chance of getting 2.

Then the OTL point was introduced to bribe teams to go for it in OT, and it failed, too. What it did instead (as any student of game theory could predict, and Bowman did) was bribe teams NOT to go for it when the game was tied late in regulation. More games were decided in OT, but more games went to OT, so once again, the number of ties didn't change much.

Then the shootout was introduced to eliminate ties altogether. This solved the original (perceived) problem, but it was a further incentive for teams not to decide games in regulation. The percentage of games decided in regulation time since the shootout was introduced is the lowest in the modern era. (And yes, Bowman predicted that too.)

Maybe fix the point system instead? How about 2 points for wins and 0 points for ties or losses. No shoot-outs anymore.

With that said, I don't mind reducing goalie pad size once in a while so they don't keep growing over time.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by edn88

Make goalies wear a hard slick layer on the outside of their pads - or even make them more rounded - make it harder for them to be butterfly goalies (slide around) and harder for them to control rebounds.

Also, why should goalies be allowed to stop play when a puck goes in their glove - sure it look spectucular, but maybe if their was a downside to freezing the puck as a goalie (say no defensive line change), then the puck would be played more. Make the glove another blocking glove, but with little or no ability to stop or control the puck.

Why give them any gear at all? Let them brave the feared black disk like men.

Also make the nets soccer nets. Then you're almost guaranteed to score. Who wants to see 2-1 3-2 games? I want to see 25-22 games.

[SuperMatt18]

Originally Posted by blankall

No, you're not imagining things. The issue is that goalie equipment is so big right now, that if a goalie has time to get set up in front of puck, he'll stop it with his wall of pad. Pads have become giant and square pieces designed to fit together to form a wall.

This change in goalie size is a step in the right direction. It's only 2 inches, but it's 2 inches that did not provide any protection to the goalie in any way. It existed only to form the "wall of pad".

Next on the list should be the pads that cover the space between the body and the arm and the pads that extend above the goalie's shoulders. These pads also do not cover or protect the goalies body in any way. The only purpose they serve is to make the pads giant square pieces that fit together.

Exactly

What body part is Lundquist protecting 4 inches above his shoulder by his ear?