Smaller goalie equipment delayed once again

[sureLoss]

Renaud Lavoie‏ @renlavoietva
NHL goalies won't have to wear the smaller chest protectors this season. The new equipment is not ready yet. Still possible next season.

Kind of ridiculous that these changes were announced so long ago and it takes them this long to implement them.

[Looch City]

Is Ken King in charge of this too?

[Cheese]

Maybe they should get WonderBra to work on these...they dont have any issues with holdups!

[You Need a Thneed]

How can it be possible to make a smaller chest protector? I mean aren't there already smaller chest protectors? What do Midget level players wear?

[Northendzone]

^ I would think they wear whatever is available at pro hockey life or the goalie shop - but I'd imagine some guys wear custom stuff.

I would have to think most established guys in the NHL (i.e. carey price) wear custom stuff tailored to them.

not sure what an up and coming guy (i.e. parsons) would wear.

[Flashpoint]

F-ing Fatties.

[pseudoreality]

Good news for Mike Smith.

[Robbob]

The goaltending union is probably dragging their feet a bit if I had to guess. I wouldn't think it would be hard to tweak the design for this. They aren't reinventing chest protectors. Hell, take a chest protector from 25 years ago and build with modern materials and tweak where needed.

[FBI]

Are they at least all wearing the smaller pants now?

[Eric Vail]

There is no reason this couldn't be introduced mid way through the season. Not everything has to be rolled out at the start.

It seems like they have been talking about reducing the size of goalie equipment since the 2004 lockout and virtually nothing has happened. So, it will be another year, but then there will be a technicality they will find and it won't happen again.

[Geeoff]

It sounds like they're working on new tech. Could be fun. It's important that goalies be properly protected.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Geeoff

It sounds like they're working on new tech. Could be fun. It's important that goalies be properly protected.

They have been working on it for years now. There are obviously some background politics delaying this. It could be the NHLPA (I'm sure they are part of it) or a few teams that feel it may compromise their goaltending situation. Who knows exactly but this isn't rocket science and I for one would like to hear a valid excuse as to why this was delayed another calendar year. The fact that they say next season is "possible" tells me this may be nothing other than lip service in that the league is hoping for a spike in goals scored this season in hopes they can sweep the new equipment under the rug.

As for them being properly protected lets not forget that military with bulletproof armor have don't seem to require protective clothing that nearly doubles their size as this is a matter of getting rid of the cheating of oversized equipment taking net space away.

[blankall]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

They have been working on it for years now. There are obviously some background politics delaying this. It could be the NHLPA (I'm sure they are part of it) or a few teams that feel it may compromise their goaltending situation. Who knows exactly but this isn't rocket science and I for one would like to hear a valid excuse as to why this was delayed another calendar year. The fact that they say next season is "possible" tells me this may be nothing other than lip service in that the league is hoping for a spike in goals scored this season in hopes they can sweep the new equipment under the rug.

As for them being properly protected lets not forget that military with bulletproof armor have don't seem to require protective clothing that nearly doubles their size as this is a matter of getting rid of the cheating of oversized equipment taking net space away.

I agree.

It'd be pretty easy to make some immediate fixes that would have no affect on player safety. For example:

1. Decrease the amount that pads can extend above the shoulder/trapezius area.

2. Contour the arms a bit and get rid of those giant blocks around the inside of the elbow.

Both would open up places to shoot without affecting player safety whatsoever. Both sets of padding I'm referring to actual extend well beyond the body, so I don't see how that actually protects the body.

[Alpheus]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

As for them being properly protected lets not forget that military with bulletproof armor have don't seem to require protective clothing that nearly doubles their size

Soldiers are generally trying to avoid the projectiles, not stop them.....

[Passe La Puck]

Originally Posted by Alpheus

Soldiers are generally trying to avoid the projectiles, not stop them.....

Are you implying they're dodging bullets lol?

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

As for them being properly protected lets not forget that military with bulletproof armor have don't seem to require protective clothing that nearly doubles their size as this is a matter of getting rid of the cheating of oversized equipment taking net space away.

As an aside...bullet proof armor doesn't work the same way as athletic protection. Pads for athletes are meant to withstand several blows and maintain function while not affecting the actual projectile.

Bullet proof armor is designed to deform/shatter the projectile and dissipate the force/fragments through multiple layers of different materials. Once used they can not be used again.

When it comes to protection, equipment designs etc it isn't just simply a case of well it's smaller and it shouldn't affect goaltender protection at all. It has to be proven every which way. It also has to show it isn't going to fundamentally change the game because all of a sudden no rebounds are seen or, on the flip side, every shot is a rebound.

It seems a long time for development but development can take a long time. There may be internal politics at work to of course. I also understand if it isn't ready to go you postpone to the next year. Making a change like this I think needs to be done before camp opens up so the goaltenders can get used to it and change their game if it needs to be changed.

[Alpheus]

Originally Posted by Passe La Puck

Are you implying they're dodging bullets lol?

Yes, thats exactly what I'm implying.....

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Passe La Puck

Are you implying they're dodging bullets lol?

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

As for them being properly protected lets not forget that military with bulletproof armor have don't seem to require protective clothing that nearly doubles their size as this is a matter of getting rid of the cheating of oversized equipment taking net space away.

You are comparing apples to hand grenades.

[getbak]

Glenn Hall played in 502 consecutive games with no mask and these as his shoulder pads...