But from a writer who wrote a decade ago that he could fix this problem in 15 minutes — thus enraging the Hockey Ops folks who were banging their heads against an NHLPA wall for years — here’s a better idea:
Make gear 20 per cent smaller, and force goalies to be more athletic and cut down the angles by leaving their crease. That will increase scoring while phasing out those big, immobile netminders who have become reliant on over-sized equipment to stay in the game.
Fans will see a far more exciting brand of goaltending, with glove saves and kick saves, and goals will go up.
And the goalies that can’t play anymore? Screw ‘em. When they removed the red line and obstruction from the game, nobody cried any tears for players like Derian Hatcher and Wade Redden, who were forced into retirement because they weren’t quick enough to play anymore.
There is a new level of cooperation between the NHLPA, the NHL and hopefully soon, the equipment manufacturers, we are told. The hope is to have some prototype equipment out for the All-Star Game, so the new parameters can be installed next season.
They want to cut down on shoulder/chest mass, rounding off the shoulders to follow the contour of a goalie’s true skeleton. They also want jerseys and pants that fit much tighter. And if they could eliminate the cheater — that huge pad that “protects†a goalie’s wrist — altogether, they would.
We’d throw in catching gloves that extends many inches beyond the hand. Take away their jai alai scoops and replace them with middle infielders' gloves – then tell me if we still need bigger nets.
The term being used is “realistic†equipment, and really — how can you talk about bigger net frames, illegal defences and over-coaching, when this elephant has been standing in hockey’s boardroom for nigh on 20 years?
The league knows that technology has produced padding that is strong enough to do this, because they have seen almost zero “puck impact†injuries over the past few seasons. And if the manufacturers balk at the time frame, it’s time to call B.S. on them too.
When it comes to a lack of scoring, one of hockey biggest issues to these eyes is that shot blocking has mushroomed. There was a time when four or five skaters on any team blocked shots. Now, 15 or 16 do.
Why? Because skaters’ equipment has evolved to the point where pucks don’t hurt like they used to. Sure, the odd one stings, or breaks a foot. But big picture, protection has given birth to courage.
Yet somehow, the goalies have made us believe that their equipment has not evolved as well.
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