Click here to check out an interesting new article from Mark Spector of Sportsnet, who says NHL goaltenders might not be debuting their new, more streamlined goalie equipment this fall after all.
Spector confirms a rumour that I heard a little while back, that no goalies have even received their new equipment, let alone had a chance to practice with it. He says that's because the exact standards for the new gear actually haven't been finalized.
"Sources tell Sportsnet that despite unprecedented cooperation by the NHLPA, a small cadre of NHL goalies have managed to stall the process long enough that not a single NHL goalie has received gear fitting the hoped-for standards for the coming season," Spector reports.
With less than three weeks until the beginning of World Cup of Hockey training camps and just over a month until NHL teams open their own camps, it seems like a long shot that the parties will be able to finalize the standards, then get the gear ordered, manufactured and shipped AND get sufficient practice in the new equipment that they'll feel safe and comfortable once the new season begins.
I know the objective is to increase scoring, but I'm assuming that goaltenders are going to want to get a feel for adjustments that they may have to make to their playing styles—and we know that even small adjustments take time.
Here's what Gary Bettman had to say on the subject at Wednesday's World Cup of Hockey press conference:
It certainly sounds like it's basically a lost cause for World Cup.
If the goalies have been able to drag their heels this efficiently during the summer, I can't imagine them suddenly changing course and agreeing to an in-season adjustment.
"With the final standards not being agreed upon, goalies will likely balk at the prospect of trying out the new gear while fighting for jobs at training camp," writes Spector. "As for the World Cup, it is believed both the union and many people under the league’s umbrella will oppose its best goalies being forced to wear the smaller, more form-fitting gear in the World Cup until they have attained a comfort level with it during practice."
The league has surprised me before with last-minute rule changes, like when they voted to adopt hybrid icing on September 30, 2013, according to
this article from NHL.com. That rule change came during preseason, when the tactic was used experimentally during the exhibition games.
If the change does end up being delayed, that could be good news for the Canucks. While all goalies will ultimately be affected by the new rules, Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom are both beanpoles who do take advantage of oversized gear to give themselves larger presences in net.
Miller is listed at 6'2" and 168 pounds on the Canucks website and spoke passionately against making changes to goalie equipment in
this article from Chris Johnston at Sportsnet last November.
"They haven't tested anything that we've seen or we haven't had a discussion with the NHLPA," he said Friday after the Canucks practised in Toronto. "If we haven't had that discussion yet, where does that push our discussion to? We still have to approve all these things, so you're talking maybe spring at the earliest.
"So you're talking about an entire industry servicing let's say conservatively there's 85 to 90 goalies who play in the NHL a year ... all of those guys have to have a chance to wear this new equipment.
"I don't think it should just be like: 'Hey, you should open training camp and hey here you go.' I think it's something where guys need to feel comfortable and I just think that doesn't even leave time for testing."
Miller suggested that a timeline of 18 months would be ideal for getting a proper plan in place, and argued that the situation was pretty chaotic when new goalie pad sizes were instituted—also before the 2013-14 season, at the same time as the hybrid icing rule was rushed in.
"I knew a lot of guys who weren't getting the pads they were going to be comfortable with until training camp; some guys only got them right before the season started," said Miller. "That's not how you run a multi-billion dollar sports industry. I just don't think we can keep doing this every three or four years and say 'Oh we want to make a change.'
"It's like you scramble to do it, barely get it done by the (end of) summer."
As for Jacob Markstrom, he's listed at 196 pounds, but is also four inches taller than Miller at 6'6".
In Goal magazine published
this profile when Markstrom signed his contract extension in July, and suggested at the time that "For all the talk of Miller and chest protectors, Markstrom’s loose-fitting pants were singled out behind the scenes as part of the NHL directive to slim down equipment next season."
There's no word on whether Miller and Markstrom have been among what Spector has characterized as the "small cadre of NHL goalies" that are blocking the changes.
Self-preservation has caused a cadre of goalies to bog down the process of deciding how form fitting equipment can get while remaining safe, constantly changing the parameters and slowing the manufacturing process to a crawl.
Also, some goalies are asking for comprehensive safety testing to take place before they are forced to use the gear, something that can not take place until the standards and measurements are agreed upon by the NHL and the NHLPA, and the equipment manufactured.
All of that has pushed the process too close to the new season.
I'm not holding my breath for the NHL to get new standards in place and get the gear out to the goalies before the beginning of the regular season.
Vancouver Canucks Blogger • 
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