Written by Sam Blazer at Bloguin
After some pretty significant rule changes in the NHL it seems like changing the rulebook is the topic du jour around the league. Everyone has an opinion about how the league should be run but the most headway is being made when trying to change the rules.
The most recent topic discussed is about the size of the nets. Mike Babcock talked about the need to make them bigger and made a pretty compelling case.
“It’s impossible to score,” the Toronto Maple Leafs coach said this week. “All you gotta do is a math equation. You go to 1980 when the puck went in the net. You got the average size of the goalies in the NHL and the average size of the net. You keep growing the net bigger, that would make the game the same … The net’s too small for the size of the goalies. Period. The goalies are too good for the size of the net.”
He isn’t wrong about the size of the goalies. It is a statement of fact that the goalies are bigger now. Does that necessarily mean that we should change it though? It brings across a new standard for the league that could be dangerous if they start going down this slippery slope. The league desperately wants more offense and if this is a way for them to get more goals without ruffling to many of the old school fans’ feathers, they will do it.
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