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Beaner
03-29-2005, 12:55 PM
from, www.tsn.ca



Report: NHL considering super-sized nets

TSN.ca Staff

3/29/2005

The NHL has developed two prototypes for bigger nets that will be shown to GMs at their upcoming meetings in Detroit, according to a report on The Hockey News website.

According to the report, NHL senior vice-president Colin Campbell told The Hockey News the league will ask GMs to consider two super-sized net designs at their meetings scheduled for April 8-9.

The first new design features goalposts that curve outwards to provide shooters with a larger target. The posts remain six feet apart at the base.

The second new design simply adds two inches in height and width to the traditional rectangle goal.

The league has been looking at way to increase scoring and excitement for some time. Other changes already being considered include smaller goaltending equipment and the use of shootouts the break ties.

"When we were talking about making changes to goalie equipment in the past few years, I had two respected coaches Roger Neilson and Jacques Demers say to me, 'Why dont you just make the nets bigger?'" Campbell told The Hockey News. "Basketball has its three-point play which rewards teams for taking risks on offense. We don't have that. Do you take a long shot late in a game when you know the odds of scoring are very low? No. Instead you drop back and play defense. We need to find a way to reward teams for taking chances on offense to encourage coaches to coach a more offensive style."

Jovorock
03-29-2005, 01:00 PM
I would have to see the first proposal to give a opinion but the second with two inches in height and width sounds ok.

Toswammi
03-29-2005, 01:05 PM
Change the rules, i dont care, as long as you get good hockey rules. But dont tweak with the net size, ice, etc. Its all just a short term fix before hockey learns to cheat with it. If they keep this up, hockey in 20 yrs will not resemble hockey today, and i have a serious problem with that. Here is a rule idea, start calling goalies with interference behind the net when they step out infront of the other skaters, or better yet, allow contact with the tenders. I figure this will keep them closer to the crease, and forchecking will lead to more scoring oppurtunities.

grumphy
03-29-2005, 01:39 PM
My solution would be to go back a few years and make the goalie free game if he leaves the crease-------out of the crease he is trated like a forward. would nearly eliminate the behind the net garbage

ihlemic10
03-29-2005, 03:40 PM
I like the fair game solution. I saw a game where the goalie comes way out of the Crease to play the puck, passes it away, has incidental collison while a shot was being taken on net. The goal was disallowed and the player who collided got a minor. I do like the AHL's goaltender play lines becuase if the goalie is out of net people generally give him room becuase they don't want to "Interfere" with him and the goalie gets to pass it out of the zone. I would think that they would be less worried about Goalies since they have the most pads on.

grumphy
03-29-2005, 05:26 PM
I played goal in the old days, and believe me you always had to take into consideration as to wether you could beat the forward coming in to the puck, because if you didn't you got nailed. At times it still made for some intresting plays, but no tender in his right mind ever cosidered going to the corner and trying to set up plays :laugh: :laugh: That would have been intresting padding or not.
I always found the padding made you something similar to an overturned turtle after getting hit.

Beaner
03-29-2005, 07:17 PM
I played goal in the old days, and believe me you always had to take into consideration as to wether you could beat the forward coming in to the puck, because if you didn't you got nailed. At times it still made for some intresting plays, but no tender in his right mind ever cosidered going to the corner and trying to set up plays :laugh: :laugh: That would have been intresting padding or not.
I always found the padding made you something similar to an overturned turtle after getting hit.


Maybe they should make the goalies of today go back to the old leather style pads of the 80's and then they can make them as big as they want to. They might not be able to move, but they could be big.

:laugh:

grumphy
03-29-2005, 07:36 PM
good one :laugh: :laugh: , have them try the old horsehair filled ones. Man you got them a little wet and you had your work cut out for ya :(

smackitsakic
03-29-2005, 11:22 PM
Pads are light, pads are insanely light. It's not the 48 inch width of the net that is the issue, it's the fact that 2 - 11 inch pads cover nearly half of the bottom of the net (nearly the top too as most pads are past the 30 inch mark). The goalie doesn't move and he has more than a 50% chance of making the save. Back in the day if the goalie didn't move the odds of him actually getting hit by the puck were slim to none. They were 120 pounds with 4 inch wide pads. So, that's a bit exaggerated, but you get the idea.
The issue is NOT the net sizes, the issue is the war-ready players known as goalies. You're wearing $4,000 in equipment that is practically bullet proof and large enough to fully stock a small house. But, what do i know, maybe changing the ice color and making the lines thicker is the solution. I'm just a fan.
TSN was showing some kind of net contraption on SportsCenter today where it was wider on the top and narrow on the bottom. I guess this would preclude the goalie from being able to fully hug the post. Pretty soon they will be tossing the idea around of using soccer nets with two goalies. Keep the game the same, just tweak it a bit. Sigh.

fightstrap50
03-30-2005, 12:23 AM
First of all the net is 6 feet wide, not 48 inches wide. it is however 48 inches tall. So 22 combined inches of goal pads is nowhere near half the width of the net. also if you look at the pads they have a definet arc to them and follow you foot outwards, so if you started at the tip of the toe padding and followed the entire arc and shape of the pad, you might get 30 inches. but as for straight vertical height more around 26 to 28 inches tall. Also keep in mind that there are a lot of very tall goalies out there who require bigger or taller pads to accomidate for leg lengths ect. so the total combined length of the pads across the bottom of the net could be 56 inches wide. and thats without any five hole at all. the net is 72 inches wide. thats 16 inches of open ice with pads completely flat in the butterfly position. Which is another reason for low scoring, as the goalies today are learning it from a young age and are becoming very succesfull at it. I like the 2 inches higher and 2 inches wider idea if anything at all. GO ICE GO!!!

Beaner
03-30-2005, 03:10 PM
Well all the goalies are against it.

However, it is the Goalies of the NHL and their Agents who are trying to block any changes to goalie equipment. The NHL needs the NHLPA to agree to any equipment changes.

I think what the NHL is trying to do here is say look, smaller more realistic equipment, or bigger nets, your choice players.

rockinthehouse
03-31-2005, 03:58 PM
Of course the NHL goalies are against the idea. With more goals being scored, who do you think will take the blame?

The NHL needs to stop looking at super-sizing their nets and go back to looking at no-touch icing. Too many players are getting injured because of touch icing. The nets aren't hurting anyone

grumphy
03-31-2005, 04:04 PM
Goalies----Shave 2" off pad width------max width for catcher 8"------thoughts on this

Beaner
03-31-2005, 05:47 PM
I like it, but it's not going to happen until the NHLPA says it's ok.

I love to look at the pictures of Patrick Roy when he first came in the league and then when he left. Wow did he hit a growth spurt or what at the end o his career! :laugh:

Toswammi
04-01-2005, 09:05 AM
about shaving the posts, so they aren't round. But instead flat and angled into the net so the shots that do hit the post (2/3 per game) are more likely to be re-directed into the net. I think this idea is far better than increasing the size of the net.

grumphy
04-01-2005, 09:52 AM
about shaving the posts, so they aren't round. But instead flat and angled into the net so the shots that do hit the post (2/3 per game) are more likely to be re-directed into the net. I think this idea is far better than increasing the size of the net.
Hadn't heard that one before-------sounds intresting

Beaner
04-08-2005, 11:27 AM
from www.tsn.ca


4/7/2005

DETROIT (CP) - Hulking goaltenders covering the net with their bulky equipment may soon be a thing of the past.

NHL general managers, executives, players and officials were in widespread agreement Thursday that goaltender equipment will be smaller whenever the locked-out league resumes play.

"We talked at length about goaltender's equipment and there was a presentation of (smaller) equipment by CCM," said Detroit Red Wings GM Ken Holland. "Certainly the goaltenders are on board on reducing the size of their equipment.".

While no firm recommendations emerged from the more than six-hour meeting, league vice-president Colin Campbell said there were long discussions on goalie equipment and on reducing obstruction fouls.

The participants also wanted a "competition committee" made up of players and management to be set up to make recommendations on further rule changes

"We made headway on goaltenders equipment," said Campbell. "We didn't expect anything hard and fast on rule changes."

"The goalie equipment is something that is very close," added Holland.

The GMs are to continue meeting on Friday, but Campbell said they would likely deal with other issues.

For the first time, seven players were invited to a discussion of rule changes. NHL players' association executive director Bob Goodenow and league commissioner Gary Bettman were also there. Both sides have been widely panned for the lockout that has wiped out the 2004-05 season and both appear ready to take drastic steps to make the sport more entertaining when the lockout is settled and they have to win back fans, particularly in the United States.

"The common goal is that we want to come back with a great game and having a discussion like this was great," said Colorado Avalanche defenceman Rob Blake.

"We understood that nothing concrete would come out. That is going to take time and more meetings."

"It appears unanimous - we want scoring chances and offence," said Edmonton Oilers GM Kevin Lowe. "Now that we know what the mandate is, we can tailor our dialogue to that."

Examples of smaller equipment built by CCM were shown to the participants, including pads 10 inches wide, two inches narrower than currently used pads.

The blocker was an inch shorter and an inch narrower, the catching glove had a smaller circumference, the goalie pants were narrower and the chest protector was rounded so it covered less space.

Even the goaltender jersey was tighter-fitting and less able to impede pucks.

Goaltender Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils argued that pads cannot be reduced too much or goalies may not have proper protection, but he accepted that "there will be a change" in the size of the equipment.

Players taking part were Trevor Linden of the Vancouver Canucks, president of the NHL Players' Association, goaltenders Brodeur and Marty Turco of the Dallas Stars, defencemen Blake and Scott Niedermayer of the Devils and Detroit Red Wings forwards Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan.

Looming over the meeting room were three models of enlarged nets, but the bigger nets were not discussed.

Brodeur said 11 NHL goalies met with Campbell separately Wednesday to discuss rules changes that would alter the way they play their position.

"I hope they're not really serious about the bigger nets," said Brodeur. "They are kind of ridiculous when you see them. It would be a drastic change." One proposed net is rectangular, similar to current nets, but is eight inches wider and four inches higher than the current size of six feet by four feet. It is 21 percent bigger.

Another model is six feet wide at the base and is bow-shaped to reach a width of six feet six inches and a height of four feet six inches, or 13 per cent bigger.

A third model is six feet at the base and widens on an angle to reach a width of six feet eight inches and a height of four feet four inches, or 17 per cent larger. "I think that is a last, last resort," said Blake. " There are too may other things that can be improved before that would come into effect."

The group also discussed bringing back the tag-up offside rule, which reduces stoppages of play by allowing off-side players to clear the zone.

They talked of bringing in no-touch icing, although some fear that will add whistles, and limiting how far from the crease a goalie may roam to play the puck.

It is also widely believed the NHL will have shootouts to decide tie games when they return.

Montreal Canadiens GM Bob Gainey has no problem with radical solutions.

"Perhaps if the net was six inches wider it would give shooters a better opportunity to score," he said. "And I don't think anybody in the rink would notice except the goaltender.

"I am not recommending we do that, but you have to try the bizarre things. We have to get out of our normal thinking if we are going to break down some of the codes and traditions to reflect a new millennium with the size, skill and ability of the players today."