When the NHL and NHLPA approved a new system of measuring leg pads that introduced “form-fitting” to the game, I was quite baffled and confused. Since next to no information was published about these new guidelines, I did my best to cover the topic with the limited literature available, mainly so that I could better understand what was going to happen.

As time went on, more information about the specific measuring procedures started to leak out. It was educational, but really perpetuated my frustrations. No matter what angle I took, I concluded it was a slippery slope in the world of goalie logic. To me, form-fitting would only cause teams to draft and sign larger goalies, as they would legally be allowed to wear bigger pads. I know that a handful of smaller goalies will always thrive in the NHL, but goalies are getting bigger and quicker every year. So if the big boys can wear bigger pads while smaller goalies must wear smaller pads, it seemed obvious that eventually, this new rule would result in the exact opposite of what the NHL wants to accomplish.

Thanks to a heads up from Pro Hockey Talk, we found out that the NHL has finally posted a list of official rule changes for the 2010-11 season. This is the first glimpse at the actual form-fitting rules that are now in place for NHL (and probably all AHL) goalies this season. Click above to read these rules for yourself, but the most important one is Rule 11.2 - Paragraph 1 for Goalkeeper’s Equipment, which reads:

“Each goalkeeper must wear pads that are anatomically proportional and size specific based on the individual physical characteristics of that goalkeeper. The League’s Hockey Operations Department will have the complete discretion to determine the maximum height of each goalkeeper’s pads based on measurements obtained by the League’s Hockey Operations Department, which will include the floor to center of knee and center of knee to pelvis measurements. Each goalkeeper will be given a Limiting Distance Size based on these measurements. The Limiting Distance Size will be the sum of the floor to knee and 55% of the knee to pelvis measurements plus a four inch (4”) allowance for the height of the skate. The Limiting Distance Size is a vertical measurement from the playing surface and will be measured with the Limiting Distance Gauge.  Any pads deemed too large for a goalkeeper will be considered illegal equipment for that goalkeeper, regardless of whether or not they would have fallen within previous equipment maximums.”

If this is your first time reading the new rule, you’ll wonder about Limiting Distance Size. This is the new form of measurement introduced by Kay Whitmore that no longer measures the actual pad, but the space (or total height) a pad can reach when resting on the ice. Yes, the league no longer measures the actual pads first – they now measure the space a pad can fill. It starts by taking leg measurements for each goalie and then determining the maximum height their leg pads can reach. The longer the leg measurements, the longer the pads can be.

When doing the math for every goalie in the league, an important factor to remember is that the NHL has automatically added four inches to compensate for the height of a goalie skate. So when a pad rests on the ice, be sure to tack on four inches to your final LDS measurement. As I brought up before, what the measurement doesn’t take into consideration is the height of a skate blade. This is a height that changes (albeit very slightly) on a weekly basis. When a goalie puts in new steel in their skates, their pads clearly sit anywhere from 1/4 to 1/2 inch higher than usual. 

MEASURE YOUR LIMITING DISTANCE SIZE

In order to better understand Limiting Distance Size, I went ahead and did the calculations for myself. The result? I’m one of the many goalies that would not be affected by the new rule. I do have very long legs for my height (6-0), and I currently wear 35″ leg pads, which, to be honest, are probably an inch longer than they need to be. With this new rule in place, I would be forced to remove a half-inch from each pad, or have a new pair of pads made that kept my thigh rise the same size, but shrank the size of the main leg channel:

1. Floor-to-Knee (FTK) = 21.75″
2. Knee-to-Pelvis (KTP) = 22.75″
3. 55% of KTP (#2) = 11.825″
4. FTK + 55% of KTP = (21.75+11.825) = 34.525″
5. Add 4″ for goalie skates
FINAL LDS = 38.525″

As you can see, the actual height of my leg pads can’t reach past 34.525 inches when resting on the ice. Since I only wear 35″ leg pads, I’m only affected by just under a half-inch. What does this mean? When it comes to overall net coverage, not much. In fact, most NHL goalies will tell you that a little trim here and there only makes them lighter and more mobile. So don’t expect scoring to go up or goalies to look any smaller just because of this change. Only the smallest goalies that wear over-sized pads willhave to do any sort of adjusting (think Osgood, Bernier, etc).

Personally, I’m a short goalie in terms of the NHL average, but my long legs compensate for overall height and I pretty much get away without being affected. If a goalie has shorter legs in relation to their overall height, they will be impacted more. If a taller goalie has longer legs than normal, they actually get even more of an advantage, as they would potentially have the chance to wear bigger leg pads.

KNEE/THIGH PADDING LOSES AN INCH

The other specific rule change as far as goalie equipment is concerned comes in the knee/thigh padding area. Last year, there was a paragraph included in Section 11.4 that covered the knee pads and limited them to a 10-inch contour in all directions. But a new clause and paragraph in Section 11.5 has been made specifically for the size of knee pads and it reads:

“All knee protection must be strapped and fit under the thigh pad of the pant leg and not exceed a contoured nine inches (9”), with no flat surfaces and must not be permanently attached or fixed to the pants. Layering at the knee is permitted to add protection but not to add stopping area. Any layering to protect the knee, whether across the front or along the sides, shall not exceed nine inches (9”). This measurement is to be taken while the goalkeeper is in an upright standing position. In the event a goalkeeper is required to wear a medical appliance to support the knee, the measurement will be taken without the goalkeeper wearing the medical appliance.”

Overall, this new rule doesn’t really impact a goalie’s net coverage. It does remove an inch of padding, but the first part of the rule stayed the same - goalies already wear separate thigh pads under their pants. And as you can see from the Carey Price photo above, since they can’t be attached to the pants, they are usually tied loosely to the inside of the leg pad’s inner channel. The reduction from ten inches to nine is only an inch, but it does raise a potential comfort issue with another important body part for a goalie – their hips.

A goalie’s hips are impacted by less knee protection and padding because of the stress that is placed on them when going into the butterfly. Depending on how wide or narrow their butterfly is, more or less pressure is placed on their inner knees andhip flexors. If there is less padding or a thinner landing, the knee has to travel further and the muscles stretch and strain more than usual to rest on the ice. The higher or thicker the knee landing, the less stress there is on a goalie’s hips and knees (and the quicker they are “down” in the butterfly).

Hip injuries, especially with the flexors, havebeen a slowly increasing issue for goalies, especially the veterans. Think of what Antero Niittymaki and Tim Thomas have gone through as far as their hips are concerned. They suffered serious injuries that played a serious role in their ability to compete pain-free and log heavy minutes. In fact, Bruins goalie coach Bob Essensa recently pointed out how less knee padding could impact health concerns for goalies league-wide.

View the video right here on the Bruins website and watch for around the 1:45 mark when Essensa discusses Thomas and his recovery from hip surgery. It seems as if Thomas has tweaked his pads in order to make him more flexible, which means, like I said above, less is often more for a veteran goalie who relies more on reflexes and quickness than size.

“The league changed some of their policy with regard to the knee lifts,” Essensa said. ”I think because of that…your hips are going to be suspect to certain injuries and I think you’ll see more and more of it as the game progresses.”

Essensa continued on the topic of knee protection by saying, “I’d like to see the league if they could try to address that to some extent. I don’t think it’s a huge advantage to give a goalie an extra half-inch here or an inch here in terms of allowing their knees not to quite go in such a vulnerable position. If a couple of more hip injuries to prominent goalies in the league continue to happen, I think it’s something hopefully the league will take a look at.”

Again, in my mind, tapering and trimming knee lifts and knee pads begs a number of different questions. Essensa brings up a legitimate concern about hip injuries. It may not happen right away, but over time, it’s something to watch for. Ultimately, it’s a slippery slope that the NHL is close to creating with the introduction of Whitmore’s “form-fitting” agenda. Think about it from a long-term perspective. How will the rules influence the league-wide size of goalies over the course of four or five years? Goalies are already growing and getting bigger, and now their pads will get bigger as well. Before form-fitting, pads were limited to 38″ regardless of size. But not anymore. 

The age of the 5-foot-11 or 6-foot-0 goalie are all said and done. Right now, 6-foot-3 or 6-foot-4 is the optimal size that scouts and teams look for in a goalie. All they need is the quickness and the technique needed to continually improve. Whether or not you feel this is unfair or just a part of being an athlete doesn’t really matter. Smaller goalies will have to work even harder than before to make it to the big show. And while I don’t think that’s a bad thing, I really don’t understand why the NHL would introduce a system that allows more than half of the goalie in the NHL to potentially wear even bigger pads than they already have.

All of this, and we still haven’t heard anything on the form-fitting guidelines for chest protectors and goalie pants…so stay tuned. It’s going to be a bit of a bumpy ride.