Nhl Goalies Scrutinized
Why start penalizing goaltenders now for using equipment that has been illegal for years?
“Why not?” said the National Hockey League’s senior vice president, Brian Burke, who is overseeing a crackdown by the league.
Starting Dec. 15, goalies must comply with existing but seldom-enforced limits on the size of their pads and blockers. Equipment will be measured randomly, without warning, and violators will be suspended without pay and subjected to frequent testing. Leg pads can measure only 12 inches at their widest, and blockers can’t exceed 8 inches wide and 16 inches high.
Coaches have long speculated about the size of equipment used by the Colorado Avalanche’s Patrick Roy - which Burke said was legal - the Florida Panthers’ John Vanbiesbrouck and the New York Rangers’ Mike Richter, among others. They had good reason.
“If it’s by that much,” Los Angeles Kings goalie Stephane Fiset said, holding his fingers a quarter-inch apart, “lots of goalies were not legal. If you’re talking 1 inch, 2 inches, maybe 5 or 10 were not legal.”
Anaheim Mighty Ducks coach Ron Wilson was sure many goalies bent the rules, saying, “Last year I told our goalies, ‘Everybody else is cheating, you might as well cheat, too. Wear illegal equipment.”’
Burke said there was no reason for the new vigilance besides an agreement by general managers and governors that the rule should be enforced. Players, teams and equipment manufacturers will have had five months’ warning, and each team got identical measuring devices to test goalies’ gear.
“Our goal is to have zero suspensions and also to have complete compliance,” Burke said. “We’ve given them adequate time and notice. It’s not a fairness issue. We’re not making them shrink equipment.”
Chip off the old block
The knock on Brett Hull early in his career was that he had a world of talent and had inherited a mean shot from his father, Bobby, but he was too lazy to use those gifts.
The Calgary Flames, who drafted him 117th overall in 1984, gave up on him after only 57 games, trading him to the St. Louis Blues with Steve Bozek for Rob Ramage and Rick Wamsley.
Brett, 32, matured into a dynamic offensive force and capable defensive player. His 86 goals in 1990-91 stand as the NHL single-season record for a right wing, and he has been voted to the postseason all-star team three times. If there were an all-quotable team, he would be on that every year.
All of that merits mention, with Brett at 496 goals, putting him and his father on the brink of becoming the first father-son combination to have scored 500 each in the NHL.
As Brett has matured, he has begun to look and sound more like his father, speaking in the same raspy tone and flashing the same wide grin.
“The line (Bobby) uses is, ‘I’ve got more ability in my little finger than he ever had,”’ Brett said. “That’s a farce, because we all know how good he was.”
Bobby was great. Brett’s not bad, either.
If you can’t stand the heat …
Center Doug Gilmour, frustrated by the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 3-9 slump, threw a stick in the direction of assistant coach Mike Kitchen during a practice last week.
He missed, which sums up the Maple Leafs’ season. Losers of eight consecutive road games, they are slow up front and soft on defense. Only Mats Sundin, with 15 goals and 34 points, provides much offensive spark.