Modern Goalie Pads

[Frank Drebin]

Anyways, goalies being too big / too good isn't the problem. Guys can score at will on even the best NHL goalies given enough time and space (see NHL all star game). Average NHL goalie sv% in the shootout is probably 60%-70%?

The game is so well coached now that there are so few genuine scoring chances.

 

[Stuzchuk]

No....put a real radar gun in a real game to prove it....

I guess in the early 90's no one shot a puck 100 + right???

Yes they did but only a few could achieve that... now most player benefit of that 5%

 

[dre2112]

Take a look at Henrik Lunqvist's pads… they're so big they're protecting each other.

You do realize that those pads and blocker Lundqvist and every goalie in the NHL is required to wear are A LOT narrower than pads before the lockout right?

 

[Stanley Foobrick]

I enjoy these threads, people who never played the position claim to know what's best, rather amusing.

 

[Habsrule]

Goalie pads are not the problem. The problem is that the position of goaltender has evolved a whole lot.

-teams play defensive style of hockey this giving opponents less time and space in the offensive zone
-average goalie size (height/weight) is much bigger than what it used to be
-goalie coaches have adapted
-goalie techniques have evolved


What it boils down to is when I was growing up the goalie was always the kid who could move fast laterally and had great reflexes. Now it is the kid who is the biggest in stature who plays his angles right and takes up the most net.

 

[Gigantor The Goalie]

Goalie pads are not the problem. The problem is that the position of goaltender has evolved a whole lot.

-teams play defensive style of hockey this giving opponents less time and space in the offensive zone
-average goalie size (height/weight) is much bigger than what it used to be
-goalie coaches have adapted
-goalie techniques have evolved


What it boils down to is when I was growing up the goalie was always the kid who could move fast laterally and had great reflexes. Now it is the kid who is the biggest in stature who plays his angles right and takes up the most net.

Ah yes, I forgot every goalie in the NHL is 6' 7". Wonder when Anders Lindback is going to get his Vezina trophy. Dallas got him for a complete steal.

 

[tp71]

Ah yes, I forgot every goalie in the NHL is 6' 7". Wonder when Anders Lindback is going to get his Vezina trophy. Dallas got him for a complete steal.

The average height of goaltenders has gone way up. It used to be rare to see a goaltender over 6 feet. Now its rare to see one under.

5'8 Mike Vernon won the conn smythe back in 1997. Could you imagine seeing a goalie standing at 5'8 in todays nhl? There are five goalies total listed on the NHL's website that stand under 6 feet that have played in an NHL game.

 

[BrokenFace]

Scores will never reach what they were in the 80s because goal tending and coaching have evolved way more than offense has since then.

I'll admit that I've never been a goal tender, but I would make 2 changes if I could. I would actually increase the amount of pads goalies can have on the inside of their legs. My understanding is that this will decrease groin injuries. I could be way off on that, but that is what I've heard and it makes sense to me.

I would also wrap the outside of the leg pads around goalies' legs rather than let them be a big square surrounding the front of their legs. Leg pads should protect the legs and 5-hole to me. Leg pads now look more like blockers than the look like pads to protect legs.


Also, how does shrinking the width of pads put goalies in more danger? As long as the padding is just as thick as before, what effect does it have? I'm not asking this as a challenge. I'm just curious since I've never played the position.

 

[Arrch]

Goalies are not being shot with bullets, they are being hit with hockey pucks. If goalies were being hit with bullets then, yes, it would be a straw man argument.

So why are you bringing up technology that stops bullets when we are talking about pucks?

 

[CrashBartley]

I always feel sad for people who need more goals to enjoy the game of hockey.

Sometimes I wish I could point them towards basketball, where they'd all the meaningless points they need.

Thank you!! I hate the argument that more points, regardless of the sport, makes it more entertaining. Perhaps to the individual who knows nothing about the game, but why are they catered to? At one time we all knew nothing about the game, but we learned because we liked it. If it's a good game, it doesn't matter if it was 3-2 or 17-12. No wait, it does. More goals does NOT make it better.