NHL goalies weigh in after trying new, smaller pads for first time: http://t.co/i7wBR9FW0s pic.twitter.com/JJMIYs1zES
— InGoal Magazine (@InGoalMedia) August 24, 2013
This is one of the new NHL rules that I am very excited about. In my opinion, the goalie equipment in hockey has gotten way out of hand. All you have to do is see one of these guys after a game out of their equipment, to see that their goalie equipment makes them much bigger. It's ridiculous. If you look at a goalie from the days of Eddie Belfour and look at the goalies today you will see a big difference.
Arpon Basu, NHL Insider -- The NHL, with the approval of the National Hockey League Players' Association, has changed the rules governing the length of a goaltender's leg pads for the 2013-14 season, making them a bit shorter so they don't block as much of the five hole between a goalie's legs.
The previous rule, instituted prior to the 2010-11 season, was that a goalie's leg pads could not go higher on his leg than 55 percent of the distance between the center of his knee and his pelvis. So if a goalie's upper-leg measurement was 20 inches, which is roughly the average number in the NHL, the pad could not go higher than 11 inches above the center of his knee.
That number will now be 45 percent, so the same goalie will be able to wear a pad that goes no higher than 9 inches above his knee.
When it comes to closing the five hole, losing approximately 2 inches off each leg pad could result in 4 inches less coverage, depending on the style of the goaltender.
2012 vs 2013 - just some slight changes (per league rules). pic.twitter.com/VH1ahmegdW
— Craig Anderson (@CraigAnderson41) August 22, 2013
