In August, the National Hockey League made it official that leg pads for goaltenders will be shorter for the upcoming 2013-14 season. The main objective of the re-sizing was to disallow the pads to cover a large proportion of the five-hole. Occasionally, some goaltenders will wear a +3 sizing added on to their normal height in order to close it up — meaning that is an extra six inches in the five-hole area, leaving it almost impossible to score there.
Here is an excerpt from NHL.com.
The previous rule, instituted prior to the 2010-11 season, was that a goalie's leg pads could not go higher on his leg than 55 percent of the distance between the center of his knee and his pelvis. So if a goalie's upper-leg measurement was 20 inches, which is roughly the average number in the NHL, the pad could not go higher than 11 inches above the center of his knee.
That number will now be 45 percent, so the same goalie will be able to wear a pad that goes no higher than 9 inches above his knee.
"They feel a little bit shorter, yeah, but it's not too much of a big change," Crawford told NHL.com. "I'm sure there will be a bit of an adjustment period, but it's something I've gone through and the other goalies have gone through before.
"I just hope it's not something that leads to injuries. With a shorter pad, hopefully we'll have a good limit for knee pads so guys don't get hurt."
Fleury voiced a similar concern.
"They just feel short," he said moments after stepping on the ice for the first time with his new pads. "I was used to what we had before, but I think I'll need a better knee pad just for a little extra protection there."
Well now that the information is out there on the new leg pad rules, it is time to answer the question that was sent to me via Twitter.
@Fang_Faction been wondering about the goalie pads. Think it will make a difference forthe athletic goalies
— Matt Bryan (@Shadowhawk232) September 4, 2013
I know reducing the size of the leg pads won't hurt the most athletic NHL goalies like Sergei Bobrovsky, Jonathan Quick and Pekka Rinne, but I'm not one-hundred percent sure it will help them either. Obviously, the leg pads will feel lighter. On the flip side, it provides less coverage. So take your pick, more athleticism or more coverage?
Personally, I prefer more coverage.
One thing to keep in the back of your head is why leg pad sizing was even a controversy. It isn't like scoring is an issue for most NHL teams when there are some nights with 4-1, 3-2, 6-5, etc. type of games. There is no legitimate reason for down-sizing. Close, low scoring games are a favorite of mine because it is actually hockey, not pond hockey like when the Flyers and Penguins get together.
If you have questions and would want them answered, send them to me on Twitter, @Fang_Faction, or email to thehockeymailbag@yahoo.com.
