It is Allan Walsh, but it sounds like the NHLPA might reject the new pants.
Allan Walsh @walsha
Talked to several NHL goalies with serious concerns about new tight fitting goalie pants. Restricts movement, no padding for inner thighs.
were the 'concerns' ever addressed?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Erick Estrada
It's just pants people. While I agree mid-season is not ideal these new pants shouldn't affect goaltender play.
i've changed my gear up mid-season in the past and never noticed a change in my game... my save percentage remained bad!
__________________ "...and there goes Finger up the middle on Luongo!" - Jim Hughson, Av's vs. 'Nucks
I'm not sure why they are doing this mid-season, why not just give the goalies the summer to adjust?
It's almost like mandating players need a shortened stick - it's just not what they're used to playing with their whole careers and now they need to adjust?
The size of the pants isn't going to change their playstyle at all.
I think it will lead to an occasional extra goal here or there though. I wear huge pants in net and pucks hit them and stay out fairly frequently.
It's just pants people. While I agree mid-season is not ideal these new pants shouldn't affect goaltender play.
Pants are a huge deal for goalies. Mostly because most goalies wear gigantic pants. It helps seal the five hole and allows you to close your arms to your hips in the butterfly.
For guys like Luongo and Crawford, it's going to take adjustment... if possible. For more athletic goalies, it might even have the opposite effect:
Pants are a huge deal for goalies. Mostly because most goalies wear gigantic pants. It helps seal the five hole and allows you to close your arms to your hips in the butterfly.
For guys like Luongo and Crawford, it's going to take adjustment... if possible. For more athletic goalies, it might even have the opposite effect:
There appear to be no cons for the new pants according to Sparks. Any goaltenders that struggle with them will have to adapt or lose their job to goaltenders that don't rely on equipment to make saves for them. I don't see any problem with that.
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There appear to be no cons for the new pants according to Sparks. Any goaltenders that struggle with them will have to adapt or lose their job to goaltenders that don't rely on equipment to make saves for them. I don't see any problem with that.
Neither... just pointing out that pants are actually a big deal to those that could lose their jobs because of it. For me, it's the one piece of equipment that could be reduced without there being a safety or fairness issue and would also have a large impact on the position.
Talbot has been practicing with new pants and mentioned that he didn't notice anything too different - goals weren't going in that shouldn't sort of thing.
I don't think it will make that much of a difference.
There are so many other things the NHL could do to increase scoring.
Pants are a huge deal for goalies. Mostly because most goalies wear gigantic pants. It helps seal the five hole and allows you to close your arms to your hips in the butterfly.
For guys like Luongo and Crawford, it's going to take adjustment... if possible. For more athletic goalies, it might even have the opposite effect:
There appear to be no cons for the new pants according to Sparks. Any goaltenders that struggle with them will have to adapt or lose their job to goaltenders that don't rely on equipment to make saves for them. I don't see any problem with that.
Yup. As a fan of the sport, I heartily welcome the idea of getting to enjoy the athletitism of modern goalies more.
Anything that brings back the Vernon/Ranford/Fuhr style of athleticism in net is 100% ok in my books. Those guys were the reason I fell in love with the game and it is SORELY missed these days.
They need to get rid of the piece of the pad that covers the 5 hole or force them to have a strap at the top. In the current design it provides nothing but a way to cover a hole
They need to get rid of the piece of the pad that covers the 5 hole or force them to have a strap at the top. In the current design it provides nothing but a way to cover a hole
You're talking about the thigh rise on the pads? Yes it needs to be either limited severely or countered to the top of the leg. It does not need to extend a foot above the knee to protect the knee.
Also, from what I heard, Hellebucyk, Hutchinson and Vasilevsky are some of the goaltenders already wearing them. I think their numbers can maybe show how big of a deal it is to reduce what is, IMO, a pretty important and overlooked piece of equipment.
I think it's pretty lame to reduce the chest protector, pads and gloves. Mostly because it won't do a whole lot... so why would the NHL bother with that battle. I think they already figured this out with the previous equipment changes. In order for those reductions to really have an effect, you'd need to reduce them to the point where it isn't safe.
I'm actually kind of surprised the goaltending fraternity didn't just go, "hey, uh... go ahead and reduce a half inch off my blocker and pads. Come back in 5 years when you figured out it didn't do anything LOL."
My prediction is that the save percentages of a good 1/3-1/4 of goaltenders will dip this season and the next. Unfortunately, one guy I would put on that list is Chad Johnson. Will be interesting to compare the save percentages prior to Feb and after when it's all done. To me, at least, this is a pretty big deal for equipment changes and I'm glad it actually happened.
I think they should narrow the posts and cross bars too. They should be just thick enough to serve their purpose of holding the netting. Narrower posts with the same outside-to-outside length means it's a "larger" goal net without actually making it larger and pandering to the nostalgic purests. If you add this plus goalie shrinking it should improve the game
