Veteran Goalie Thinks Modern Netminders Are Fat, Bitchy
The official Dear Lord Stanley position on goaltending and the size of the nets is this: the dimensions of the goal should never change---the dimensions of the goalies should. I'm not alone in this, much to my surprise. In fact, I've even got actual NHL goalies (well, at least one) to back me up in a fight.
Phil Myre, a 14-year NHL vet and the current goalie coach of the Florida Panthers, thinks the idea of bigger nets is just a ploy by the NHL to scare the goalies back in line on equipment dimensions, not to mention a lousy strike against record-keeping:
"I think there's still some options to exhaust other than the drastic measure of making the nets bigger," said ... Myre ... "I think that should be the last straw to reintroducing offence, because not only is it going to be tough on goalies, it's going to destroy all previous stats."The net should be the last resort, because it changes the whole game. From the time that they make the nets bigger, they are going to have to have asterisks beside the stats."
He also thinks the netminders are fat and need a serious diet.
What could the goalies do with less of? Gloves and huge chest protectors, says Myre. He points out that police officers can stop bullets with super-thin kevlar vests but goalies cling to enormous padded fat suits to stop thick rubber pucks. If official DLS patron saint Ken Dryden could be the best goalie in the NHL during the 1970s looking like this (barely bigger than the other players on the ice), why does Martin Brodeur get to look like Santa Claus with a mask on?
Make the goalies smaller, don't make the nets bigger. There's no argument as far as I'm concerned. If you don't agree, I'll set my boy Phil Myre on your ass.
3 comments:
agreed
Didn't we have this conversation already? (Scrolls through DLS archives, reads June 7 post and subsequent comments...) Yep, we did.
I've said it before, and I'll say it again, a reduction in equipment size for goalies will not result in an appreciable increase in goals scored.
In your previous post, you agreed with me, saying the real problem lies with scoring chances, not goals. Goalie equipment has nothing to do with scoring chances.
I'd like to discuss this topic in detail, cuz as a goalie, I might have some insight. Granted, I'm no pro, but I am a bit of an equipment nerd and have a vast wealth of resources to discuss this intelligently. Let me know and I'll write a rebuttal to this post.
If you'll re-read this entry, you'll notice that nowhere do I say I think the equipment sizes should be reduced to increase goal scoring. I don't care about increasing goal scoring. The NHL does, Phil Myre seems to, but I don't.
I think more goals could conceivably be scored on goalies who have smaller equipment, but that's not my point. My point is, I prefer the way old-school goalies looked and I think giant chest protectors and gloves are a cop-out. Goalies, as they have shown through history, will adapt their skills to whatever their situations happen to be at the moment. They're talented like that. Shrinking their equipment would force them to become more innovative positionally and could also spur changes in team defensive strategies. I'm all for that.
Feel free to tell me why I'm wrong, but please remember that I don't care if more goals are scored.
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