Re: Why I hate these NHL playoffs
posted at 5/4/2012 8:48 AM EDT
You are full of yourself and presumptuous. You have no idea what I do or who I am. Stating you played goalie for 30 years means nothing, since I haven't brought up what I do or what my knowledge is. Perhaps I have played goalie for 40 years, 10 of which were in the NHL. It is still irrelevant in this discussion. If it was, I would say you should comment on nothing but goaltending from now on.
This isn't an attack on goalies as people so you need to relax. Goalie shin pads are 11" wide. No goalie in the NHL has 11" wide shins. The pads are the shape they are to stop pucks, not to protect. The pads should be narrower, and protect the sides of the player's legs.
The problem with the boring hockey is not the goaltenders, it's the strategy, this is true. But the strategy exists because it works. It works because average NHL goaltenders in the butterfly can stop a large percentage of pucks by simply squatting there. By playing the odds and putting a bunch of other players in the way of the shooter, not many shots will reach the back of the net. If you give shooters an additional 8 square feet to shoot at, the odds of winning with a collapse strategy is reduced. It will no longer make sense to sit back and allow 40+ low percentage shots a game because some of them will go in. This will force teams become more aggressive, and open up the game.
FYI, I'm a strong advocate of changing all equipment. Smaller, softer pads for players playing out, and wooden/aluminum sticks as well. I don't think that advancements in equipment have made the game better, or safer.
In Response to
Re: Why I hate these NHL playoffs:
In Response to Re: Why I hate these NHL playoffs : When you talk about goaltenders your out of your league. Mike Smith is one of the more athletic goaltenders and was the top vote getter in an SI poll when they were asked which goaltender is the best athlete. The equipment is fine, NAS stated in an earlier thread about how they make bullet proof equipment that is smaller. I wear a bullet proof vest for a living, it restricts mobility and does not take to water or sweat well. Pretty sure the people at Vaughn or RBK would have come up with soemthing by now, theres a reason they havent. And in todays equipment, you still feel it. My trig is fine and the fact that I've played for 30 years gives me a little edge over you in this department. Ilya Bryzgalov is one of the bigger goalies, hows his save percentage these playoffs? If you look at a previous post in this thread I said it was easier to teach players to play defensive, not offensive. I never said it was easier to score. They've already reduced the size of equipment, limited the goaltenders from where they can play the puck. How about reducing the size of the shin pads and shoulder pads? Everyone points to the enhancement of goalie equipment when the player equipment and the composite sticks have evolved at an even faster rate. To think otherwise is just uneducated. If the goaltending was reducing scoring so much then how come we havent had a 2-1 All_Star game? Even before the equipment was reduced, what were the scores of the All-Star games? Cause I'm pretty sure the goaltenders are out their still playing the way they always do, they dont want to be emabarassed. it's the play in front of them that is different, hence, the goals are up.
Posted by kelvana33
