Smaller goalie equipment likely coming to NHL next season
Goalie equipment in the NHL is going to be getting smaller next season.
By
Adam Gretz
•
2 min read
One day after Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner went on the radio and talked about the need for goalie equipment to shrink in size, it appears as if it will be doing just that next season.
Even though the rule changes have yet to be officially approved, all signs coming out of the NHL general manager's meetings on Tuesday point to new restrictions being in place for the start of next season. The league hopes to get the new equipment to the goalies over the summer so they can get used to the new sizes.
The new equipment is expected to be more form fitting and be adjusted to the size of the individual goalies. For an idea of what they might be looking at, former NHL goalie Corey Hirsch had a pretty great demonstration a couple of weeks ago to show how much space is wasted and how smaller gear can still be just as safe as what they are wearing now.
The size of goalie equipment has been one of the major talking points in the NHL in recent years as offense continues to drop to near all-time low levels. The thinking is that if the size of the equipment shrinks, shooters will have more net to aim for and increase the number of goals scored around the league.
But Kay Whitmore, the NHL's goaltending supervisor, said on Tuesday via the Canadian Press that the change is coming at the urging of some of the league's top goaltenders who want to prove their success is more about their skill than their equipment. There is no doubt goaltenders are better today than they were in the past due to better training and coaching. They are also bigger both in terms of their own size physically, and also because their equipment has ballooned.
Goalies that do not comply with the new specifications will be facing fines and suspensions from the league.
This change might prove to help goal scoring (it certainly can't hurt), but goalies are still going to stop shots at higher rates than the players that came before them because they are simply bigger, more athletic and better than ever before.
As long as the game is still coached and officiated the way it is you're still not likely to see a significant surge in goal scoring levels across the league.
