Since the late 1990's the NHL has constantly been doing things to increase scoring...They have made rule changes to try and hinder defense...They have continued to look at goalies and find things to change about the position...They basically punished goalies for being good puck-handlers, and took away their right to play the puck outside of the crease....(except for that stupid little trapezoid)...They have scaled down the size of goaltender's equipment, which I had no problem with because at a point, the pads were huge...But to be fair, goalie pads did have to improve and increase in size to a degree...
Technology has continued to change the game...The equipment has changed so much since I was a kid...All these new, lightweight, super torque sticks are insane...Christ, I still have wood sticks! So players are bigger, stronger, and faster, with high-tech equipment...Goalies and their equipment needed to follow those advances with their own...Not just to compete, but for safety as well...
Of late, NHL talking heads all over TV and Sirius XM NHL Network Radio, GM's and owners, and the NHL brass are making another big push to increase scoring...They say they are seriously considering shrinking the pad size for goalies...I don't think most goalies will have an issue with that, as long as it;s proven that they will be safe with the smaller sizes...Many are talking about increase the size of the goal...I have a problem with that...Increasing the size of the goal could drastically impact the record books...All the sudden Connor McDavid is going to have all this extra space to squeeze pucks in, and to hell with the History that Gretzky, Howe, Messier, Dionne, Esposito, Selanne, Jagr, Yzerman, Hull, Bucyk, Lafleur, Orr and the others greats built...
If you increase the size of the goal, every goal scored from that point on gets an asterisk next to it...
Then they were talking about switching the game completely and going to 4 on 4 or possibly 3 on 3 full-time...What the fuck!?! First of all the 3 on 3 overtime sucks...It's bullshit...It's a totally different game then what got the two teams to that tie...Fucking garbage...And the goalies get hung out to dry, so how is it any better then a fucking shootout!?!
What all these dip-shits don't think about is that goalies are constantly working on their game...They follow the changes in the game and adjust their game...They use technology to study shooters...To study angles and positioning...Goalies today play a more disciplined, positional style, instead of being reactionary and working just of instincts...
Could all this dolts trying to screw with goalies to increase scoring, realize that right now, the NHL has some great, amazing goaltenders...If you look at the NHL, and say the top 10 players right now...The elite...2 are goalies...at least 4 in the top 20...
How about this...Instead of fucking with goalies...Get on the skaters case...Tell them to work as hard in the off-season as Carey Price and Henrik Lundqvist do...Hell, I'd like to hear a goalie step up and say...'Hey, you want more scoring, get better...Get the puck past me!'
I get it...The NHL brass is lazy...They want to promote scoring to the non-fans and the youth, to try and grow the game...Try promoting the great defense and great goalies...Goalies that will single handedly carry their team to a victory on any given night...Let alone how they carry their team during the playoffs when offensive numbers always drop drastically...
Quit fucking with the goalies...
Unless they look like this!
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