Good bathroom reading...
But it sure seems that the art of making a save is nearly gone. So much for stacking the pads, kick saves and a snapping glove hand, those days seem to be in the rear view mirror. I miss Hasek and Brodeur and Roy and Barrasso and Fuhr and Smitty.. you know.. Goaltenders, making saves.
Not massive bodies with mega oversized equipment who basically butterfly as soon as a shot is taken, under the assumption that the shot will either be blocked by D or hit them. No skills needed other that some basic Geometry. So goalies are now just really big shot blockers who hang out in the crease.
Fedotov is listed at 6'7" -- add 3" on skates, which is now 6'10" -- and I'm sure he has on the biggest pads allowed. Why not just draft failed NBA stars, teach them to skate and give them a compass and protractor? I remember a bad joke back in the day when someone said that Wang was gunna bring a Sumo wrestler to play net. Hardly a big jump from what we have today.
And yes, I know that glove saves happen, and that G steals goals and some saves are amazing. Got it. I see the highlights. But between the shot blocking, clogged shooting lanes, and massive goaltenders and their dumb, crazy effective butterflying, the game has changed. And its certainly not more exciting to the casual fan.
But what to do? Or do nothing and let the game evolve/devolve? I dunno.
Certainly can't tell teams not to play effective D. Shot blocking will continue I guess until maybe a forward gets a 90mph puck to the face and Malarchuks all over the ice. Maybe something like a basketball "key" where defenders are limited for a certain time? Or maybe 7'5' net instead of 6'4'?
Or maybe just remove Bones' ability to post cuz he rambles too much.
But it sure seems that the art of making a save is nearly gone. So much for stacking the pads, kick saves and a snapping glove hand, those days seem to be in the rear view mirror. I miss Hasek and Brodeur and Roy and Barrasso and Fuhr and Smitty.. you know.. Goaltenders, making saves.
Not massive bodies with mega oversized equipment who basically butterfly as soon as a shot is taken, under the assumption that the shot will either be blocked by D or hit them. No skills needed other that some basic Geometry. So goalies are now just really big shot blockers who hang out in the crease.
Fedotov is listed at 6'7" -- add 3" on skates, which is now 6'10" -- and I'm sure he has on the biggest pads allowed. Why not just draft failed NBA stars, teach them to skate and give them a compass and protractor? I remember a bad joke back in the day when someone said that Wang was gunna bring a Sumo wrestler to play net. Hardly a big jump from what we have today.
And yes, I know that glove saves happen, and that G steals goals and some saves are amazing. Got it. I see the highlights. But between the shot blocking, clogged shooting lanes, and massive goaltenders and their dumb, crazy effective butterflying, the game has changed. And its certainly not more exciting to the casual fan.
But what to do? Or do nothing and let the game evolve/devolve? I dunno.
Certainly can't tell teams not to play effective D. Shot blocking will continue I guess until maybe a forward gets a 90mph puck to the face and Malarchuks all over the ice. Maybe something like a basketball "key" where defenders are limited for a certain time? Or maybe 7'5' net instead of 6'4'?
Or maybe just remove Bones' ability to post cuz he rambles too much.