Around the NHL 2015-16: Part II

[Kyndig]

The article said that over the last decade, the NHL has reduced the size of goalie gear and Save% have gotten better. Therefore, there is no proven correlation between size of goalie gear and goal scoring in the NHL.

I agree with that premise.



It is not pad size.

They greatly reduced the thigh rise of the pads and you haven't seen a lot more 5 hole goals.

Players can't score low because of the butterfly save and pad designs that have greatly improved pad seal along the ice and the ability for goalies to get into a butterfly position and maneuver when down in the butterfly.

Making pads 10" or even 9" wide won't open up scoring along the ice.

That might open up holes just above the pads, however. But, it would take experimentation to prove whether those theoretical holes would lead to more goal scoring.



I do believe that C/As (and pants) could be designed to be more form fitting and less square to the shooter. And those design changes could make things more challenging for goaltenders.

Or, they could just make things lighter and make it even easier for goalies to move.

One way to make things tougher for goalies would be to turn back the clock on the materials used to make the pads and make the gear a lot heavier.

The fact that gear is a lot lighter than it used to be (partially due to being smaller due to the newer rules), makes it easier for goalies to move and make saves.

A bigger goalie gets bigger pads/shirt etc no? Maybe not the height of leg pads during butterfly but everything else. Two things that annoy me is how much of an advantage it is to just be a big goalie and how big all the goalies shirts are, its like they're wearing a dress 10 sizes too big.

 

[Jim Bob]

A bigger goalie gets bigger pads/shirt etc no? Maybe not the height of leg pads during butterfly but everything else. Two things that annoy me is how much of an advantage it is to just be a big goalie and how big all the goalies shirts are, its like they're wearing a dress 10 sizes too big.

Jerseys are a lot smaller than they were when say Patrick Roy had the flying monkey inserts under his arms.

Right now, jersey size is more a function of the C/A and they aren't flying around like they used to. The move to the Reebok Edge jersey helped with that.

 

[Jim Bob]

3 on 3 sucks.

But i guess it cant be any worse that what we currently have.

Name an All Star Team.... dont even bother playing the game.

I love the 3 on 3 mini tournament idea. There already was no defense, this will really open things up.

The thing I don't like is the lack of a fantasy draft.

It would be way more fun if the fans got to vote on the 4 captains and then they drafted their teams from the entire NHL.

Also, the $1M prize money is baaaad. Watching millionaires compete explicitly for more millions makes the whole thing rather tone-deaf.

I'd love to see the prize money go to a charity of the winning captain's choice.

 

[Clock]

I'd love to see the prize money go to a charity of the winning captain's choice.

When I first read about the prize money I sort of assumed that that's what the players would do regardless.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[LaxSabre]

Pierre LeBrun ‏@Real_ESPNLeBrun -

As part of NHLPA signing off on all-star format, players scored a "five-day bye week'' for next season for all 30 teams.

The league will fit the five-day bye break into schedules for each team between January 1, 2017 and February 28, 2017.

 

[Sabretooth]

I watched a bit of the pens/avs game last night, and was a little surprised at how different grigorenko looks now for them than he ever did for us. Not dominant or good/better per se, but maybe more confident is the right way to describe it? He looks much more engaged in the play. He's getting PP time and everything. One particular play that stood out to me was when he was passed the puck near the dot with space. The pens defenders were all down low, and none came out to challenge. Instead of rushing a shot right away or looking to pass or just standing there waiting for something to happen like I feel like we saw so many times, he skated in with the puck to close the gap and got off a really good shot that fleury stopped. Even though he didn't score there, I was just thinking wow I don't remember ever seeing him look so poised with the sabres.

Anyways, just my ramblings. Not undoing the trade by any means. Just thought it was interesting.

 

[Jim Bob]

The beer gut is a nice touch.

 

[The Mars Volchenkov]

I watched a bit of the pens/avs game last night, and was a little surprised at how different grigorenko looks now for them than he ever did for us. Not dominant or good/better per se, but maybe more confident is the right way to describe it? He looks much more engaged in the play. He's getting PP time and everything. One particular play that stood out to me was when he was passed the puck near the dot with space. The pens defenders were all down low, and none came out to challenge. Instead of rushing a shot right away or looking to pass or just standing there waiting for something to happen like I feel like we saw so many times, he skated in with the puck to close the gap and got off a really good shot that fleury stopped. Even though he didn't score there, I was just thinking wow I don't remember ever seeing him look so poised with the sabres.

Anyways, just my ramblings. Not undoing the trade by any means. Just thought it was interesting.

He's been a real pleasant surprise, particularly his defensive play. Roy has brought him along slowly, but last night was playing him in every situation, from PP to PK.

In the end, I think both teams will be happy with the trade, but the Avs might not reap the full benefits for a few years. O'Reilly was obviously the best player in the deal right now.

 

[Moskau]

Oilers offense is going to be gross when they get McDavid back. They should just bite the bullet and package up something that is going to hurt to get Hamonic. Islanders will want Nurse or Klefbom but Edmonton should really consider trading their 1st while it's value is as high as it ever will be. They may not make a ton of noise in the West but they will shoot up the overall standings in the next month.

 

[Havok89]

Oilers offense is going to be gross when they get McDavid back. They should just bite the bullet and package up something that is going to hurt to get Hamonic. Islanders will want Nurse or Klefbom but Edmonton should really consider trading their 1st while it's value is as high as it ever will be. They may not make a ton of noise in the West but they will shoot up the overall standings in the next month.

Draisaitl with what, 17 points now in 10 games?

 

[stokes84]

Draisaitl with what, 17 points now in 10 games?

Thank god Taylor Hall is there to carry him to all those points though.

 

[1972]

Draisaitls ceiling is ridiculously high now that his skating is so good, like franchise centre caliber player.

 

[Uberpecker]

Oilers offense is going to be gross when they get McDavid back. They should just bite the bullet and package up something that is going to hurt to get Hamonic. Islanders will want Nurse or Klefbom but Edmonton should really consider trading their 1st while it's value is as high as it ever will be. They may not make a ton of noise in the West but they will shoot up the overall standings in the next month.

It'll be interesting to see how they are going to uphold their great "make nothing out of something" tradition. But I'm not going to be terribly surprised if they pull it off somehow

That being said, that assemblage of high-end offense skill is amazing. McDavid, RNH, Hall, Draisaitl, Yakupov, Eberle. Wow.

 

[Zip15]

Thank god Taylor Hall is there to carry him to all those points though.

So are you back to being Team Leon? Because two weeks ago, on the trade board, you suggested the Calgary-Kootenay playoff series swung you from Draisaitl to Reinhart:

Weak. You'll never see a player manage the puck at a higher level than how Reinhart did in that series. I wanted the Sabres to draft Draisaitl, but that series was a game changer. Denying Reinhart's hockey IQ is disingenuous.

 

[stokes84]

So are you back to being Team Leon? Because two weeks ago, on the trade board, you suggested the Calgary-Kootenay playoff series swung you from Draisaitl to Reinhart:

I thought we went over this the other day?

 

[Jame]

Thank god Taylor Hall is there to carry him to all those points though.

It's impressive how often you use/dismiss the linemate argument in your favor

 

[tsujimoto74]

It's impressive how often you use/dismiss the linemate argument in your favor

I actually recall seeing a couple of articles a while back that argued QOT was a far more important factor than QOC in individual player performance. Draisaitl's played well, but he's not going to continue at his torrid pace indefinitely, and, yes, playing with Hall is a big help to him.

 

[Zip15]

I thought we went over this the other day?

I never saw your response the other day. Feel free to quote it if you want to save time.

 

[Havok89]

Thank god Taylor Hall is there to carry him to all those points though.

Taylor Hall is a huge factor in his production. Leon has still looked incredible though.

 

[stokes84]

I never saw your response the other day. Feel free to quote it if you want to save time.

It's a misinterpretation, which I don't blame you for and I completely see why you interpret it the way you did. But, if you read the entire conversation, it was a response to a guy from Calgary who said he never thought Reinhart was dominant in junior. It was meant to show that even though I was somewhat in agreement with him by having another player ranked ahead, that it was undeniable that Reinhart was dominant in that series, and it showed that Reinhart was very capable of being dominant at that level. I hope that clarifies it for you, but if you want to use it as a "gotcha" post, I would just point to my posts leading up to that draft. Not that any of this should matter.

 

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[26CornerBlitz]

 

[Woodhouse]

Edmonton has no luck whatsoever, and Montreal's Price is injured again:

 

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