NHL Scoring Problem

[Patty16]

I like that the league in finally coming around to smaller pads. Yea guys are taller, but they're still pretty skinny.  Also those ridiculous thigh extender pads completely take away the 5 hole.  They need to be shorter. 

 

there's enough technology to make it safe, guys are blocking tons of shots with way less equipment and we're not seeing an increase in injuries. 

 

There no legit reason for equipment to be that big, goalies wanted it to boost their numbers and get paid. 

[WildCard]

Haven't seen this ye:

 

Colin Campbell, NHL senior executive vice president of hockey operations, said he isn't sure if goal scoring is the big issue. He said he believes the ability to generate goals, particularly when a teams is trailing, is the primary point to address.

 

Teams are 21-127-14 when trailing entering the third period this season.

"I don't think the game needs more goals, I think the game needs more opportunity for lead changes," Campbell said. "If you go down one or two goals, even three, you need the opportunity to come back. The game shouldn't be over. You should be able to tie up another team."

 

Campbell didn't rule out the possibility of the NHL using bigger nets if the GMs conclude that the game needs more scoring. However, he said that is a last resort and the first place they're going to look is streamlining goalie equipment.

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=787279&navid=nhl:topheads

[Weave]

Haven't seen this ye:

 

 

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=787279&navid=nhl:topheads

 

More opportunities for lead changes screams tighter hockey to me.  Me no likey.  Not even a little.

[TrueBlueGED]

Haven't seen this ye:

 

 

http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=787279&navid=nhl:topheads

 

So basically he's saying 3-2 and 2-1 are fine, as long as the cadence is such that the lead swaps 1-0 to 1-1 to 1-2 to 2-2 to 3-2? The people in charge of this league are so clueless sometimes. Even if he has a point, how in the world could the league possibly hope to produce that through rules?

[Kruppstahl]

Goalie equipment can be made to be much smaller without causing harm to the goalies.

That is what needs to be done and it sounds like that is the direction they are going to go in.

[pi2000]

Goalie equipment can be made to be much smaller without causing harm to the goalies.

That is what needs to be done and it sounds like that is the direction they are going to go in.

 

Agree 100%.   IMO, the most important pieces of equipment to make smaller these days are chest protectors and pants.    Bulky pants and tall/wide chest protectors are ideal for butterfly goalies, and a big reason all goalies are now butterfly style.   

 

The only problem is how to regulate this.   What's going to stop a 5'11 goalie from wearing a chest protector designed for somebody who is 6'6?   Maybe the league has to approve all goalie equipment on a per player basis?

[LGR4GM]

Agree 100%.   IMO, the most important pieces of equipment to make smaller these days are chest protectors and pants.    Bulky pants and tall/wide chest protectors are ideal for butterfly goalies, and a big reason all goalies are now butterfly style.   

 

The only problem is how to regulate this.   What's going to stop a 5'11 goalie from wearing a chest protector designed for somebody who is 6'6?   Maybe the league has to approve all goalie equipment on a per player basis?

They figured out how to regulate stick size and created an exemption rule so they should be able to figure this out. 

[pi2000]

This is absolutely ridiculous.....  The pads are up to his ears, and the arms, especially at the elbow are massive.    The only reason they're that big is to stop pucks that otherwise would go by them.

 

It will be fascinating to watch if they streamline the chest protectors and pants.   Imagine all the goalies who are making a living simply because of their size and ability to play angles.    With streamlined pads the emphasis may shift back to more quick, athletic goaltenders.... which traditionally means shorter in stature.         

 

[Hoss]

No cups allowed for goalies. They'll just skate away every time a shot is coming. Goals go up or we get less goalie children.

[Stoner]

So basically he's saying 3-2 and 2-1 are fine, as long as the cadence is such that the lead swaps 1-0 to 1-1 to 1-2 to 2-2 to 3-2? The people in charge of this league are so clueless sometimes. Even if he has a point, how in the world could the league possibly hope to produce that through rules?

I can't wrap my head around the distinction Campbell is trying to make there.

[LGR4GM]

If a team goes up 3-0 he wants the team trailing to have some semblance of a chance to come back. Right now you get 3 goals, you win in most normal games.

[Hoss]

Maybe Campbell is trying to say he wants to make sure any tweaks made universally affect teams and can't be taken advantage of by certain types of players/play. That way EVERYBODY has a better chance to score more goals, even teams who get down in a game.

 

I agree that taking games that were 4-1 and making them 7-4 is more exciting but not "better hockey."

[WildCard]

Babcock chimes in

 

https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/664580122587058176

[LGR4GM]

Jonathan Quick is in favor of making GT equipment smaller.

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/kings/la-sp-kings-report-20151112-story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=53285

"If you look around the league and you look at goalies — in their street clothes and then with their gear on — the difference in size, it's a little too much," Quick said. "So I'm on board with that…. The biggest difficulty with gear is body size and body type. It's so hard to get a standard on who can wear what and what size everyone is…. Once guys get gear, some guys make changes and try to make adjustments to make it look a little bigger."

[Patty16]

Jonathan Quick is in favor of making GT equipment smaller.

 

http://www.latimes.com/sports/kings/la-sp-kings-report-20151112-story.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter&dlvrit=53285

"If you look around the league and you look at goalies — in their street clothes and then with their gear on — the difference in size, it's a little too much," Quick said. "So I'm on board with that…. The biggest difficulty with gear is body size and body type. It's so hard to get a standard on who can wear what and what size everyone is…. Once guys get gear, some guys make changes and try to make adjustments to make it look a little bigger."

 

 

Yea bc equipment is equalizing goaltending a bit too much.  The big guns want a little more separation bc they know they are just better, and not bc the equipment covers the whole net.  

 

Think about the thigh extenders, if those were reduced now goalies have to really protect the 5 hole, and thus can't cover as much ice in the butterfly.  

[Weave]

This glove is ridiculous.  Seriously.

 

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CTn64GkUEAAT7bt.jpg:large

[darksabre]

This glove is ridiculous. Seriously.

 

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CTn64GkUEAAT7bt.jpg:large

It's not strapped down, so the back of the glove is flopping out making it look a lot bigger than it is.

[Randall Flagg]

Goalies must hate putting those things on in situations that don't involve playing hockey/getting exercise. I'd imagine they make their hands smell bad for some time after.

Edited November 12, 2015 by Randall Flagg

[That Aud Smell]

It's from ESPN.com, but give it a chance. The writer does a commendable job of explaining why the "just call the game like it was called in 2005" contention isn't a solution to the current scoring woes.

 

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/14145265/nhl-calling-more-penalties-fix-nhl-scoring-issue

[WildCard]

It's from ESPN.com, but give it a chance. The writer does a commendable job of explaining why the "just call the game like it was called in 2005" contention isn't a solution to the current scoring woes.

 

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/14145265/nhl-calling-more-penalties-fix-nhl-scoring-issue

Very good article, thanks for that

[Weave]

Good read.

 

Now lets drop the size of the goalie equipment and make it a penalty to leave your skates to block a shot.  And if that ain't enough, open up the nets another 2".

[WildCard]

Well I was convinced it was the lack of penalty calling, I'd be interested to see if the 5-5 scoring has gone up or down or remained the same since 2005-2006; that's where a lot of us hold our argument

[TrueBlueGED]

Nothing other than increasing net size is going to solve this: 

 

 

We increase seat size in new arenas/stadiums to accommodate larger humans, cars have more interior space in every class, airlines are increasing leg sp....okay, that last one's a bad example. It's time.

[WildCard]

Nothing other than increasing net size is going to solve this: 

 

(sweet graph)

 

We increase seat size in new arenas/stadiums to accommodate larger humans, cars have more interior space in every class, airlines are increasing leg sp....okay, that last one's a bad example. It's time.

Pretty linear even though the scoring rate in the NHL is not, no? I feel like you could be 6'5'', but still have normal padding on. Just means it's really hard to get anything down low on you

Edited November 17, 2015 by WildCard

[TrueBlueGED]

Pretty linear even though the scoring rate in the NHL is not, no? I feel like you could be 6'5'', but still have normal padding on. Just means it's really hard to get anything down low on you

 

Right. I certainly don't think that increasing nets should be the only thing done, and I'm still very much of the opinion that it's treating a symptom rather than the disease (game flow and defensive strategies limiting high-quality scoring chances). But I've gotten to the point where I think it needs to be part of the solution. I now look at it as a natural adaptation to human growth. 

 

Somebody better versed in goaltending technique can correct me if I'm wrong, but it's always been my understanding that the primary purpose of the butterfly technique was to cut down on goals scored down low because that's where they're mostly scored. It's not that they're the highest percentage chances, it's just that players struggle to life the puck with consistency in a real game situation. So cutting down goalie equipment size should increase the amount of goals scored high, but because the repeatability of those goals is questionable, I don't think it's going to have a particularly large impact on scoring overall. But if the nets were made larger such that even big goalies couldn't cover post-to-post so easily, I think that would matter more overall since more shots end up being of the low variety than the high variety.

 

James Mirtle had a series of tweets tonight that really got me going on this stuff. These three really stuck with me: 

 

James Mirtle ‏@mirtle  2h2 hours ago

Hey I'd love to see the NHL have smaller goalie equipment. But they've tried, what, seven times? These debates have been going two decades.

 

James Mirtle ‏@mirtle  2h2 hours ago

They were discussing this when Garth Snow was with the Flyers. Now he's nearly 50 and at the GM meetings talking about it.

 

James Mirtle ‏@mirtle  3h3 hours ago

This is currently the sixth lowest scoring NHL season in the last 60 years. All the rest were Dead Puck Era, which was close to this.

 

Dominik Hasek is widely considered one of the best three goalies of all time, and arguably the best...his career SV% was .922. This season that would put him 15th in the league, tied with Jimmy freakin' Howard. I mean, I feel like that speaks for itself. Can we stop with the half-measures already?