equipment industry has improved exponentially. The equipment is lighter,
smaller, and safer than ever. The changes to the chest protectors were not
to simply make the padding smaller, but rather refine its shape.
The chest protectors, mainly the shoulder pads and extending chest piece
has become better-fitted to the wearer’s body, and appears to be less boxy.
Simply put, the equipment is more aligned to fit the body of the wearer, and
it has cut down on the boxy angles that we have seen over the years.
While it may increase scoring once in a while, it hasn’t increased the risk
of injury to goaltenders.
While the naked eye may have some difficulty pointing out the subtle
differences in change, there are some differences. The most important
being the flaps of the chest protector that extend over the collarbone and
shoulder/traps-area.
The equipment is much more conforming to the body’s shape, and prevents
the raised, block-like fitting that previous chest protectors had. The stomach
area is more fitted, and the equipment is now much more proportional in
size to the person wearing it.
Conclusion:
The equipment rules and modifications for goaltenders has not made the
game any more dangerous for them, and it really has not had much of an
effect on increasing scoring in the NHL.
If you are looking for a reason to the increase in scoring, look at the new
age of hockey we are in, and the amount of players who can move the puck
more accurately and more quickly than ever…not to mention, 83 goalies
have entered an NHL game this season.
The quality and the health of goaltenders has been the bigger issue
for most teams, not their equipment.
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