The goalie equipment is getting out of control. I know, NAS, you can tell me you've been saying this for quite some time now, I won't retract my arguments from then, but going forward i see a disturbing trend going forward in how the goalie equipment is made.

Last week I was watching a game and a player attempted a wrap around..Jonas Hiller didnt get there in time, but the top of his pad did,..The puck got stuck under the peice that comes out above the knee (in goalie world we call this "plus 2 or 3 etc.."  ..Jonas didn't even realize he had it, in fact, going by his body language, he thought it went in...The announcer is screaming about how what a nice save it was...That was it for me.

I'm looking at what my fellow goalies are wearing these days and it concerns me..I want the goalie to stop the puck with the best protection...i don't want the oversized protection deciding who are the best goalies...

I dont have a problem with what most had worn before last year or the year before, but this year it's out of control and now I see that Bauer and CCM have moved in and are taking over for Vaughn and RBK. Vaughn has long been a staple in the goalie world...look at how many wear them now..I'd guess 25%...Look at Tuuka Rask, or Khudobins Vaughn goalie pads then look at Carey Price new CCM's or Corey Crawfords pads...it's ridiculous...They just go down in a regular position and theyre 5 hole is covered..If they go down in just a sit down position, the pads stick straight out about 7 or eight inches..

When goalies took the butterfly style to a new level, their knees were getting exposed so the companies added more padding to cover the knees...You could get them in sizes called plus 1 inch or plus 2 inches...Now, instead of designing it to protect the goalies, theyre designing it to stop a puck from getting through...Add this to the fact that these guys are now well over 6 feet tall...

I know, you all tried to convince me of this last year, usually takes me longer to catch on, but I'm telling you, CCM and Bauer have brought this to a whole different level and it's concerning...I want to see goals that should be goals, and great saves made because the goalie was an actual goalie...Jonas Hiller is almost ugly to watch play, Ben Bishop is a robot and Marty Brodeur is an absolute legend who never gave in..

In response to kelvana33's comment:

Did the sky just turn orange?

Nice post Kelvana.  Isn't the league at a point of no return ?  What if they change the rules ,remove that protection and one if these guys gets hurt? Can , will the league be liable ?

It has gotten ridiculous . Look at Rask and/or Price without equipment , they look 100lbs wet. With equipement like Hans and Franz in pump me up.

Even the goalies in my league I can't score five-hole anymore  and they're not that mobile. Then again I don't have an NHL shot.

 

 

Went to the BU/UML game last night.  BU goalie was Sean Maguire, listed at 6'2" 202lbs in the program.  Not a string-bean, but looked like he weighed 350lbs in his gear.  Absolutely absurd.

Leg pads are huge (and light).

Could fit a friend or two with him in his pants.

Chest, Shoulder/Arm pads looked like he was in a Sumo Suit.

Nobody wants to see a goalie get hurt, but things are out of control.  Glad to see you come around on this kel.  In the interest of protecting goalies, I would be in support of eliminating the 1-piece composite sticks which are also out hand.  Composite shafts are fine and don't explode when you make an outlet pass.

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Wow did you see the goalie the Bruins up against today .... 6ft6 ??? Do the Bruins have Jack the Giant Killer ?

Need I preach once again, raise the net by a foot.  If pads help a butterfly goalie, then make him stand up.  

I like your logic, isla.

I'm not as familiar with goalie equipment as those who have played the position, but I guess this does support something else I've noticed.  Watching Rask this year, I've noticed more than once he seemed to display very poor lateral movement.  Like he had his ankles frozen on some pretty basic moves.  As Jack would say, he's "lost an edge" a few times moving side to side in his crease.

Then flipping to other games, I'm seeing this more and more than ever.  It seems like goalies are squaring up to the shooter, taking advantage of the larger pads, and stopping pretty much everything at a favorable angle.  Then if there is a cross ice pass, many times they seem out of position or very slow to react and end up down and out easier than ever before.

Too early to say for sure, but maybe forwards are starting to adjust to the new goalie equipment as well.

In response to kelvana33's comment:

Yes I have, Kel.  It's not only ridiculous, it's stupid.  As I've said many times, the upper body protection is supposed to be for protection.  Now it's used to stop pucks.  The extenders are absurd.  The whole thing drives me so crazy that I don't even want to talk about it this morning.

But yeah, it's f'ed up.

In response to ipotnyc's comment:

He thinks he's a in a space suit.

i'm gonna disagree with you. the goalie equipment has been downsized and i think if you want to increase scoring in the league then start taking the body armor off of forwards and defensemen. they will not be so eager to jump in front of a shot thus getting more pucks to the net = more scoring opportunities and more goals.

In response to islamorada's comment:

No one ever listens to or comments on my solution.  Make the puck lighter.  I unknowingly picked up one of those kids blue pucks and all of a sudden I could blast a puck from center ice and it would arrive on net with good velocity.

The lighter puck travels much faster, much much faster.

And since the puck is lighter that means the goalies could wear less protection.

 

But I don't see scoring as a problem in the NHL today, I can't recall the last time I saw a 1-0 with the one goal coming in a shoot out.

Thanks Peter Puck....love the lazer puck idea!  Definitely 21st century!

I still don't like the pads, but how does one regulate the size.  It is better to make the net larger.  Oh well, Kel's idea of shrinking the pads is more plausible.  The NHL think tank is like the Vatican with regards to changing the net size.  

 

In response to BadHabitude's comment:

In response to islamorada's comment:

the only thing with raising the net higher Isla, is, some poor sole is going to get cranked in the head with a 90 mph slaphot while defending a 5 on 3..

I have to agree with kel.

I don't like the idea of raising the net at all. When a puck goes around the player's heads nowadays it's because of the shot getting away from the shooter. Raising the net will give these players a reason to shoot that high . The net is there.

Dangerous for player safety.

P.S. Kudo's to Isla for the Peter Puck plug. LOL

Tend to agree on the player safety argument although sliding players trying to block shots in front of the goalie is of the same safety concern.  My original post way back was associated with average the height of players as opposed to the 1940's.  Bigger goaltenders should make an argument for bigger nets.  The NHL does not want to change that aspect of the game.  Parallel to the MLB maintaining the wooden bat. Nonetheless regualating the size of the pads would be difficult.  Kel  and others how does the NHL authenticate the size of the pads before each game today?

Again I come back with a faster puck.  SOG wold go through the roof.  I don't think people have ever used these things, but if you have you would know what I mean.  Shots from center ice would have a legit chance of scoring.

I would say it adds abou 30% to your shot.  Think about that.  Every NHL player would have a 100 mph+ slap shot.

In response to BadHabitude's comment:

Not McQuaid.  LOL

Good report Kel. What has happened to the NHL equipment committee ? Thought it was supposed to approve any changes. How are the manufacturers getting away with ' non-approved" equipment ? Kel's report indicates that Rask uses the less pumped up pads vs. Price with newer design, plus all reports I've read indicate that Rask nis one of the smoothest/quickest post to post in the league.

My puck idea - come to think of it, didn't baseball do it?  

Didn't they make their baseballs more "bouncey" so that it would be easier to hit HRs?

BH I don't think the lighter puck is a good idea. If someone were to catch a faster moving lighter puck in the face/head that would be bad. It's already bad enough. I'd say the best idea is to regulate pad width and height. There are only 60 some-odd goalies that regularly play in the NHL. Have them get their pads reviewed before the season. Have them make a case for why they have certain parts of their equipment that are the size they are. The glove is ENORMOUS now. The extensions above the knee are also enormous. If it's made to protect the knee, make them actually bend up with the leg when kneeling. 

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