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Goalie Pads To Shrink, Again, Then Expand Quietly Until They Shrink, Again

Oct 15, 2009, 8:45 PM UTC

â†µHere's an odd way for an important NHL rule change to getâ†µdisseminated to the public. From Uni Watch via Puckâ†µDaddy, the â†µsartorialâ†µchanges that rocked a league: â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥In 2003 the league limited the size of a goalie pad to 38 inchesâ†µâ‡¥high, but goalies can use that size any way they want. Pads are measuredâ†µâ‡¥from the inside of your ankle to your knee and then from your knee toâ†µâ‡¥the top of your thigh, so goalies often add “thigh rise” (i.e., extraâ†µâ‡¥pad) to the top to get to the 38-inch limit if they want them that high.â†µâ‡¥A shorter goalie might use a 33+5 pad, or a taller goalie might use 37+1,â†µâ‡¥depending on the original size of the pad and how tall the goalie is (orâ†µâ‡¥at least how long his legs are). The end result is that Chris Osgood andâ†µâ‡¥Steve Valiquette end up using the same size pad, even though one of themâ†µâ‡¥is 5′11″ and the other one is 6′5″.â†µâ‡¥
â†µâ‡¥â†µâ‡¥That’s just plain goofy, so starting next year goalies will beâ†µâ‡¥required to use pads that are measured and fitted to them by the NHL. Itâ†µâ‡¥won’t be a big change for the bigger guys, but smaller goalies who’veâ†µâ‡¥been using bigger pads will feel the crunch.â†µâ‡¥

â†µâ†µâ†µGet your 6-8 Godzilla keeper now, as goalie pads for midgets willâ†µshrink. Olaf Kolzig might just come out of retirement again. Guess whoâ†µthinks this is a great idea? Steveâ†µValiquette!â†µ

â†µâ†µâ‡¥“I may regret saying this, but I think we can reduce the size ofâ†µâ‡¥the pads by a few inches,” Valiquette told The Post this week inâ†µâ‡¥responding to a question originally posed on behalf of The Hockey News,â†µâ‡¥which is conducting a survey on the issue. “We should figure outâ†µâ‡¥how much padding is necessary for safety purposes above the knee andâ†µâ‡¥then customize pads on an individual basis.”â†µâ†µâ†µOther things Steve Valiquette likes: “you must be this tall toâ†µride” signs, laws that give guys named “Steve” taxâ†µbreaks and herding up short people and putting them on reservations. â†µ

â†µâ†µPuck Daddy asks “why did this take so long?” and referencesâ†µthe insane expand-the-net movement that’s been lurking on the extremeâ†µedges of proposed NHL rules for a few years now. The answer to this isâ†µ“it didn’t”; the NHL has been targeting ever-expanding goalieâ†µpads since atâ†µleast 1996, and I bet if you dig into LexisNexis you’ll findâ†µCanadians complaining about excessively large pads on the team ofâ†µbrontosaurs that won the 75 million BC Stanley Cup. â†µ

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â†µWill it do anything, though? A goalie friend of mine has vowed toâ†µstop watching the NHL entirely if they ever expand the nets -- he's alsoâ†µincensed about the trapezoid behind the nets -- but shrinking pads doesn'tâ†µseem like it'll do much. Valiquette suggests that smaller pads willâ†µcreate a lot more space in the five-hole and would prevent goalies fromâ†µplaying on one leg as much as they do now, but any effect on scoringâ†µthere would be marginal. I guess every little bit helps, but firewagonâ†µhockey is never coming back. â†µ

â†µâ†µThis guy’s favorite hypothetical change to increase scoring: allowâ†µteams to vary rink size from 85 to 100 feet. College hockey does this.â†µGames played on larger rinks tend to have more scoring chances -- it’s aâ†µlot easier to get in the zone -- and the transition from narrow to wide, orâ†µvice-versa, screws defenders up when they’re trying to get in goodâ†µposition. Mandating it league-wide would be dumb, but putting some extraâ†µhome-ice advantage in the game and increasing scoring is a win-win.â†µ

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This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.

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