Big changes were supposed to be in store for the National Hockey League's goaltending fraternity in 2016-17. According to a March report from the Canadian Press (h/t Sportsnet), the league declared its intention to crack down on oversized goalie equipment by requiring goaltenders to streamline their gear.
The World Cup of Hockey is just around the corner and preseason games for league play begin in just over a month. But there has been no announcement about the details of the initiative and Mark Spector of Sportsnet reports that the NHL and the Players' Association have not yet reached an agreement on standards for the new equipment.
Time is quickly running out to get everybody signed off, get the equipment manufactured and get it tested to a point where goalies will feel comfortable enough to step in front of a Shea Weber slap shot with less protection than they've had in the past.
If the gear was changing this year, those changes would probably impact different goaltenders in different ways, depending on how reliant they've been on oversized equipment during their careers.
At this point, it looks like we will see ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Carol Schram
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