Yesterday I saw someone tweet a link to this somewhat lengthy video on youtube containing NHL highlights from the 90s. I'm incredibly sentimental, and I love taking trips down memory lane, so, needless to say, I loved watching it. While I was soaking up all the amazing goals, cringing at the bonecrushing hits, and smiling in recognition at all the players I remember from that decade, I kept thinking to myself that the brilliant saves in there are the type of saves we just don't see in the NHL anymore. Was I just becoming an old, sentimental curmudgeon? Was this my version of "we used to walk ten miles to school.... uphill..... both ways?" Or was there some truth to my sentiment? In order to test if my feelings were rooted in truth or just in sentimentality, I started searching for goalie highlights of current NHL goalies. The more I watched, the more I felt that not only was my reaction correct, but the differences in goaltending from the 90's to today were even more stark than I imagined. Yes, the game is different. We all know that. Players are bigger, faster, stronger, and advances in stick technology results in shots that are harder and faster than ever. The biggest factor though, is the size of goaltending equipment.
Watch that 90's video and look at the size of the goalies. They are much smaller than they are today. Combine that with the i
ncreased speed of the game today and you have a much different style of goaltending. To compare, look at this video I found of Henrik Lundqvist highlights. Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the league today, but his style is completely different than what you see in the 90's video. His pads are enormous and he relies on his size and positioning, rather than his reflexes or quickness, to stop the puck. Would Lundqvist have been a successful goalie in the 90's with the smaller gear? Would a goalie like Mike Richter be successful today with the larger gear? It's impossible to answer those questions, but it's an interesting debate nonetheless. The style of play is ju
st so different. Going back the the 90's video, look at the save by Kirk Mclean against the Flames at the 7:05 mark. I still remember exactly where I was when I saw that save. I might even go as far as to say that it was the best save I have ever seen, an absolute textbook two pad stack. When was the last time you saw a save like that? Been a while, right? Goaltending is so much different now. Look at Lundqvist in the picture above. From his stance it's impossible to even move the way Mclean did in making that two pad stack save. His legs are so far apart and his skates are such sharp angles relative to the ice that it would require a total change in body position before even being able to push off and move horizontally. That is why you seen Lundqvist fall into a butterfly on almost every save. His stance leaves no real alternative. He's not the only one, either. That style of goaltending is extremely common today.
You look at the guys in the nets today and they are all huge. They take up so much space that there just isn't much to shoot at. It makes saves like that Mclean two pad stack a thing of the past. I remember just a few years ago when the size of goalie equipment was the topic du jour. Kay Whitmore's committee was running around measuring pads in an attempt to keep the size of equipment in check. With headshots, concussions and suspensions now dominating headlines and airwaves, monitoring the size of goalie equipment has been forgotten. I hope that at some point they revisit this issue. I don't want goalies becoming the size of sumo wrestlers, but when I see guys like Luongo, Rinne, Lundqvist, I fear that we are heading down that road. I guess I can always just go to youtube and take a trip down memory lane...
Watch that 90's video and look at the size of the goalies. They are much smaller than they are today. Combine that with the i
ncreased speed of the game today and you have a much different style of goaltending. To compare, look at this video I found of Henrik Lundqvist highlights. Lundqvist is one of the best goalies in the league today, but his style is completely different than what you see in the 90's video. His pads are enormous and he relies on his size and positioning, rather than his reflexes or quickness, to stop the puck. Would Lundqvist have been a successful goalie in the 90's with the smaller gear? Would a goalie like Mike Richter be successful today with the larger gear? It's impossible to answer those questions, but it's an interesting debate nonetheless. The style of play is just so different. Going back the the 90's video, look at the save by Kirk Mclean against the Flames at the 7:05 mark. I still remember exactly where I was when I saw that save. I might even go as far as to say that it was the best save I have ever seen, an absolute textbook two pad stack. When was the last time you saw a save like that? Been a while, right? Goaltending is so much different now. Look at Lundqvist in the picture above. From his stance it's impossible to even move the way Mclean did in making that two pad stack save. His legs are so far apart and his skates are such sharp angles relative to the ice that it would require a total change in body position before even being able to push off and move horizontally. That is why you seen Lundqvist fall into a butterfly on almost every save. His stance leaves no real alternative. He's not the only one, either. That style of goaltending is extremely common today.You look at the guys in the nets today and they are all huge. They take up so much space that there just isn't much to shoot at. It makes saves like that Mclean two pad stack a thing of the past. I remember just a few years ago when the size of goalie equipment was the topic du jour. Kay Whitmore's committee was running around measuring pads in an attempt to keep the size of equipment in check. With headshots, concussions and suspensions now dominating headlines and airwaves, monitoring the size of goalie equipment has been forgotten. I hope that at some point they revisit this issue. I don't want goalies becoming the size of sumo wrestlers, but when I see guys like Luongo, Rinne, Lundqvist, I fear that we are heading down that road. I guess I can always just go to youtube and take a trip down memory lane...
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