Any rule changes pertaining to goalie pads?

[Buffalo Rick]

They were supposed to address this? They need to. Some of these goalies cover the entire net. How can you score? Make them earn the saves. reduce the width of the pads.

[goalnut3133]

@Hockey Junkie You're right, I was waiting for news on this too, but haven't heard or seen anything yet. I didn't hear anything about the width, it still seems to be 11" (see rules at http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=26287) but I read somewhere that they were going to try to reduce the length by 10%. And how that was going to greatly affect goalies like Carey Price, who seems to wear them higher over the knees than the avg. goalie.

But I did find this interesting article about how they may be looking at changing the rules about wearing 'white' goalie pads cuz of how this gives the goalies an advantage over the shooter: http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2013/03/05/do_white_pads_give_goaltenders_an_unfair_advantage.html

[hf101]

Fleury changed his pads after receiving a letter from an Ottawa optometrist who explained that yellow stands out to the human eye more than any other colour, and that white was a far better option, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.

It worked for him. Once Fleury returned wearing white pads, he went 23-8-1, including 14-6 in the playoffs, with a 1.77 GAA and a .937 save percentage. The bright yellow pads haven’t been seen since.

ahh, so *this is why Bryz wore the Black pads. .... :wacko:

[Polaris922]

ahh, so *this is why Bryz wore the Black pads. .... :wacko:/>

Some old goalie friends of mine used to say the advantage to black pads was in rebounds. If they were against or under the pads they were harder to see. That way players didn't know where to put their sticks, and more importantly officials were faster to whistle the play dead.

[goalnut3133]

@Polaris922 Yes I read about the advantage to black pads for rebounds also...& how Patrick Roy used to paint the white triangle at the bottom between his pads to give the illusion of an open 5-hole..haha pretty crafty!

[doom88]

I'd like to see the leg and chest padding reduced. Let it wrap around if need be for safety, but no more walls. Let talent discriminate!

[hf101]

Henrik Lundqvist tweeted a picture of his newer, shorter goalie pads on Tuesday morning.

Lundqvist writes that his pads are shorter because of "new league rules."

hmmmm..... no official word yet from the NHL but looks like new smaller pads for next season. .... 10% smaller???

http://instagram.com/p/cq17Emirfs/

[Commander Clueless]

Personally, I think they should just remove the pads entirely. Scoring, baby!

Everyone knows goalies are OP anyways. Hackers.

But seriously, I'm not against reducing the pad size. However, it does seem to be a constantly ongoing process. Have to wonder if someday they are going to overdo it.

[hf101]

The goalie whining has started......

 

“Coaches and GMs, you guys want that, you’ve been asking for more goals [through the] five hole,” Giguere said. “So if your goalie gives up a goal five hole, you need to take a breath and remember that you asked for it.”

[NRH]

Just build the net into the back of the hockey rink like an indoor soccer goal.

[blocker]

IMHO, you don't have to make pads bigger to protect a goalie's body.  A padded coating of something similar to hard plastic for his arms, legs and chest would provide all the armor needed.  That could be done with an addition of only a couple inches to his frame. 

 

There's no rationale for outsized pads other than to reduce the size of scoring pockets. 

[jammer2]

 The Wild's Backstrom shows off his new "snazzy" red pads.....

 

 http://www.startribune.com/sports/blogs/222231091.html

[ruxpin]

Just build the net into the back of the hockey rink like an indoor soccer goal.

 

I personally wouldn't do that because it would kill the dynamic of behind the net play.  But maybe that's just me.

[fan4ever]

Coatsey explained the changes during the game last night...I couldn't follow (whether it was because it was Coatsey explaining it or I've never been the best at math, I don't know).....Inches from the ground to knee and inches from knee to hip, etc.

 

The icing was wierd too.  This may take some getting used to if they decide to keep it...