NHL Scoring Problem

[nfreeman]

I find it funny how Larry Quinn got roasted for suggesting larger nets and now it seems to be gaining momentum. I saw a piece on TSN were they said that over 1200 shots hit goal posts last year. That is a lot of potential goals scored without nothing else changing.

 

I've heard a suggestion about beveling or otherwise re-shaping the posts themselves so that pucks are more likely to deflect into the net when hitting the post.  Although I'm not in favor of enlarging the nets, I would be OK with re-shaping the posts in this manner.

 

I think my first choice would be to substantially shrink the goalie equipment -- and not just the leg pads.  They are all wearing robocop-style exoskelotons on their torsos that make them substantially larger.  And the gloves (both catcher and blocker) have mushroomed in size as well.

 

Frankly, as I've said previously, if the technology exists, I'd like to do away entirely with traditional goalie equipment and replace it with form-fitting body armor.  I think it would look cool, would compensate for the growth in average physical size of goalies over the last 20 years and would result in substantial increases in scoring.

 

I'd also like to see more interference penalties called as in 2005-07.

[Iron Crotch]

Here is what goalie equipment used to look like, back when you could actually score from an off-angle.

 

 

(former Sabres great Don Edwards)

 

[apuszczalowski]

Why not just get rid of the goalie altogether? Then they can make the entire back ends of the rink the net so ever puck that goes back past the defence is a goal and we can all enjoy basketball scores in hockey?

 

Either that or they should just do away with goal tending equipment and they can block shots like defence men. When s prong goes up, will they make tweaks to the players equipment to make it harder to score goals?

[Iron Crotch]

This is what you get now... bulked up like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man...

 

[apuszczalowski]

Here is what goalie equipment used to look like, back when you could actually score from an off-angle.

 

 

(former Sabres great Don Edwards)

that was also a time where the players could rarely hit the top corners and the puck never could reach 100mph off a players stick.

 

The game has evolved and now teams are looking for big guys to fill the nets. It's now common to see goalies who are 6'-6" or more who's body size takes up more of the net and the days of 5'-10" goalies are being pushed out unless they have unbelievable talent. It's not an inch or 2 larger equipment bringing the scoring down.

Edited November 11, 2015 by apuszczalowski

[Eleven]

Just call the game the way it is meant to be called.

[apuszczalowski]

This is what you get now... bulked up like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man...

 

hmmmmmm, glove and blocker on Miller hardly look bigger, and his leg pads actually look less bulky then the older stuff. The pants and chest protector are bigger because again, shots now come off the ice and pretty much everyone can shoot the puck in the air much harder and faster then before. The difference in the equipment t over the years is the weight, the old leather stuff was heavy, today's stuff is lighter and allows goalies to be much quicker. Should the nhl make the put weights into their equipment so they can't play as fast too?

Just call the game the way it is meant to be called.

that would be too difficult, easier to just modify equipment and nets to change the game and make sure everyone can score

[WildCard]

Is the reliance of point shots through traffic the result of not calling penalties, or how big the pads are?

[Weave]

hmmmmmm, glove and blocker on Miller hardly look bigger, and his leg pads actually look less bulky then the older stuff. The pants and chest protector are bigger because again, shots now come off the ice and pretty much everyone can shoot the puck in the air much harder and faster then before. The difference in the equipment t over the years is the weight, the old leather stuff was heavy, today's stuff is lighter and allows goalies to be much quicker. Should the nhl make the put weights into their equipment so they can't play as fast too?

that would be too difficult, easier to just modify equipment and nets to change the game and make sure everyone can score

 

Poor angles to compare blocker and glove size.  I can't recall where (or when) I saw the article.  It was at least 3 seasons ago.  Blockers and gloves were compared directly.  They are significantly larger than they were in the 80's-early 90's.  All the goalie equipment is.

[LGR4GM]

Is the reliance of point shots through traffic the result of not calling penalties, or how big the pads are?

yes

[Eleven]

Poor angles to compare blocker and glove size.  I can't recall where (or when) I saw the article.  It was at least 3 seasons ago.  Blockers and gloves were compared directly.  They are significantly larger than they were in the 80's-early 90's.  All the goalie equipment is.

 

Here's a more recent one:  http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/why-its-time-to-call-nhl-goaltenders-bluff/

[apuszczalowski]

Poor angles to compare blocker and glove size.  I can't recall where (or when) I saw the article.  It was at least 3 seasons ago.  Blockers and gloves were compared directly.  They are significantly larger than they were in the 80's-early 90's.  All the goalie equipment is.

I have seen the old leather gloves and blockers first hand and have blocker and gloves that are not as big as the old stuff

[LGR4GM]

Goalie equipment is too damn big.

[darksabre]

As a goalie, I think a major reason pads are so large is because goalies want protection from players crashing the net with no sense of self-preservation.

[TrueBlueGED]

Just call the game the way it is meant to be called.

 

Sure, but even if they start doing it gain, do you have any confidence at all it will continue over the long haul, or even into the playoffs? I'd rather find a solution that officials can't arbitrarily decide to take away.

[LastPommerFan]

As a goalie, I think a major reason pads are so large is because goalies want protection from players crashing the net with no sense of self-preservation.

 

I think this is a catch-22. If there were better ways to score from 15' out, their would be fewer bodies crashing the nets.

[Hoss]

What about just making the posts thinner? Keep the net size the exact same but make the posts thinner. Is there a reason the posts are so thick?

[darksabre]

I think this is a catch-22. If there were better ways to score from 15' out, their would be fewer bodies crashing the nets.

Maybe, but I think if you're going to reduce pad size you have to stop players from crashing the net.

[LGR4GM]

Here is another article discussing the history of GT pads

http://sportsthenandnow.com/2013/10/23/goalie-pads-then-and-now-a-look-at-the-new-pad-restrictions/

"Pads are measured from floor to knee, so let’s say you wear a 34” pad, and then want an extra 3 inches of thigh rise, your pads would be labeled 34+3. Thigh Rise offers no extra protection, and removing it does not add any extra risk of injury, but we’ll touch on that later."

What about just making the posts thinner? Keep the net size the exact same but make the posts thinner. Is there a reason the posts are so thick?

If you thinned the posts it would make the nets bigger techinically.  You would be thinning the post and adding circumference

[Hoss]

The net doesn't change in size at all if you thin the posts. The opening gets slightly bigger, but it would, I imagine, be an easier transition. No need to resize the crease or change the peg holes.

[Ottosmagic13]

I think they need to address this on a couple of angles (none of which are changing goal sizes):

 

First and foremost get rid of the god-awful coaches challenge. Hockey is a continuous game that is too fluid for a missed call, that didn't DIRECTLY lead to the goal, to take back a goal. Not only does it by definition reduce the number of goals it also instantly deflates the atmosphere in the building. I honestly believe that over the course of a season the number of times a missed offsides leads to a goal will work against just as many times as it does against. 

 

Secondly, enforce interference calls. There is absolutely no reason that on a dump and chase the defensemen should be able to take his hands off his stick to slow the progress of the forechecker. We see this 3-4 times a game and calling those penalties would have a two-fold effect: At first, more penalties would be called as defenses adjusted which would lead to goals. Then, after they adjusted it would lead to more offensive puck recoveries resulting in more goals. 

 

Change the size of the goaltenders equipment. Like several posters above I don't really have the issue with the size of the leg pads or even the pants. It's more the size of the chest and upper body gear. Within safety concenrs reduce the BULK of the chest gear, the bagginess of the jersey and reduce the size of the goalies glove. 

 

My thought is that gloves are a bigger offender than blockers and (as long as they don't get bigger) I think blockers are fine. Here's why: More often than not a glove save freezes the puck whereas a blocker save keeps the puck in play. With smaller upper body gear more emphasis will be placed on the goaltenders skills and you'll have less stoppages of play with skilled blocker saves or pucks rebounding off leg pads. The magic height for shots might trend up from the 2-3 inches above the leg pads that it is now to the inside of the arms.  

 

 

 

And lastly a thought that I don't know if it's relevant or not but one I had when reading the golf analogy above. What if, like the USGA/R&A have limits on the specifications of clubs perimeters (Things like MOI, groove depth, etc.), the NHL starts to puts restrictions on hockey stick manufacturers requiring specifications aimed to cap or restrict the performance of composite sticks.  Allowing the safety of goalies to improve requiring less gear that doesn't have to stop a 100mph slapshot but a slower better placed one. 

Edited November 11, 2015 by Ottosmagic13

[inkman]

Maybe, but I think if you're going to reduce pad size you have to stop players from crashing the net.

Make the Nets harder to dislodge. Guys whaling their faces and on the goal post 5 times a game might dissuade them from skating 30 mph into the goal.

[Ottosmagic13]

Just found this Gem: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/sports/hockey/nhl/sabres/2005-04-01-bigger-nets_x.htm

 

Featuring these:

[darksabre]

Make the Nets harder to dislodge. Guys whaling their faces and ###### on the goal post 5 times a game might dissuade them from skating 30 mph into the goal.

They used to be like that. Didn't help the goalie at all though.

[That Aud Smell]

Make the Nets harder to dislodge. Guys whaling their faces and ###### on the goal post 5 times a game might dissuade them from skating 30 mph into the goal.

They used to be like that. Didn't help the goalie at all though.

 

Also didn't help Gilbert's ribs when that plug from the Capitals recklessly tripped him on a rush back in the early 80s. For whatever reason, that play is seared in my memory. No way those goal posts are going back to being firmly moored.