OT: Is scoring in the NHL down again and should something be done about it?

[Mr. Make-Believe]

...

Looking at the league's leading scorer list, it's basically point-per-game players at the top of the list again.

Does anyone know if scoring has gone down significantly the last couple of years?

To me, the talent has never been better. The games are fast and the skill is off the charts.

But the big scorers are back to not being really big scorers. Back-up goaltenders are getting a lot of glory. And it seems with most teams employing a collapsing strategy in front of their own nets, that the highlight reel goals are at an all-time minimum. Much of the offense is being created off of rebounds and scrambles in front of the net.

Are we finally at a place where we can seriously begin to discuss larger nets? Should we just leave it alone? Or is there some other way to get some scoring back into our game?

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[iiBruins17*]

Goalie pads need to be smaller

 

[Beaviz81]

Defense is improving, while offense seem to stand still. Hockey is not the only sport that has suffered from that fate, just look at normal football. Even though there things have improved thanks to some gifted offensive players.

The main thing I note is that the goon-defender of the Gretzky-years seem to be a thing of the past which means you have better quality in defense. Thats at least my two-bits.

I don't know about larger nets, but how about goalies with form-fitting equipment? That would be fun to watch.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

Goalie pads need to be smaller

Everyone says this, but I don't think it can be done.

Player safety is keeping this blocked and since I'm not in the position, I can't say whether or not they CAN be safely reduced in size.

With the sticks that everyone uses now, there is no such thing as a harmless shot.

 

[iiBruins17*]

Everyone says this, but I don't think it can be done.

Player safety is keeping this blocked and since I'm not in the position, I can't say whether or not they CAN be safely reduced in size.

With the sticks that everyone uses now, there is no such thing as a harmless shot.

Leg pads most definitely can safely be reduced

 

[chizzler]

Everyone says this, but I don't think it can be done.

Player safety is keeping this blocked and since I'm not in the position, I can't say whether or not they CAN be safely reduced in size.

With the sticks that everyone uses now, there is no such thing as a harmless shot.

I don't believe that. If players are quicker, so aren't goalies. Shots are a little faster but they rarely get through the defense. the equipment is to big. Until they fix this it won't matter with other rules changed. Padding can get smaller and still do the job. They make vests that stop bullets.

 

[neelynugs]

make the nets bigger. that'll combat all the coaching/advance scouting/great goaltending to get scoring back to reasonable numbers.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I don't believe that. If players are quicker, so aren't goalies. Shots are a little faster but they rarely get through the defense.the equipment is to big. Until they fix this it won't matter with other rules changed. Padding can get smaller and still do the job. They make vests that stop bullets.

I don't know if I buy into it either.

If you're looking at increasing the size of the nets rather than the equipment though, you're no longer fighting the "is it safe" fight. Size of pads has already been reduced... Not only is it a further uphill battle that way, you're also asking for entirely new technologies to be invented/instituted.

What fight would one be more likely to win?

Leg pads most definitely can safely be reduced

You say this so definitely without taking into account the many, many obstacles that stand in the way.

 

[Lobster57]

what about trying to go more than 3-4 years without fiddling with the game?

 

[BruinDust]

Shot-blocking is epidemic in today's NHL and the biggest reason IMO scoring has gone down year after year.

What can be done about it I have no idea.

 

[JOKER 192]

Leg pads most definitely can safely be reduced

Agreed,You don't have to go to far back to see the difference in the size of goaltending equipement.

If the sticks they use today are the problem then take them out of the game. The same way aluminum bats are not allowed in professional baseball, the graphite sticks can go the same route.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

make the nets bigger. that'll combat all the coaching/advance scouting/great goaltending to get scoring back to reasonable numbers.

I don't know if this is tongue-in-cheek, but consider how much the average size of a goaltender has increased over the years.

Is this not a logical progression of the game?

It doesn't make anyone less safe. And it doesn't change the rules of the game.

Or maybe I'm just... I just think that one of the reasons we saw as many changes as we did after the first lockout of this century is because scoring was down around these levels. The top scorer in the league right now has 72 points in 71 games. We could potentially not see a single player over 90 points this year.

I love the sport, but to me - that's BAD. But maybe I'm just wrong to be thinking like that.

 

[Strange Universe]

I was just discussing this with my teo children the other night.
I believe that with all the goalie equipment that has increased in size and the goalies in general being bigger bodies than years ago have certainly played a role in the decrease of point production.
However, I will also say there is a good amount of players through out the league that are not NHL caliber and are playing because of the amount of teams we have in our NHL league thus a diluted product of players does exist as well.

The easiest solution IMO is to make the net itself a little bigger.
How much bigger? is a good question.
But perhaps if we look at the past when the goalies themselves were smaller in stature in general and their equipment smaller in size and try to bring that comparison into today's game and figure out what the size increase of the goal nets should be.

 

[Strange Universe]

Shot-blocking is epidemic in today's NHL and the biggest reason IMO scoring has gone down year after year.

What can be done about it I have no idea.

If we take this into account as well the only way to change this would be a larger ice rink which would cost a fortune to do across the league.

International ice surface would be the ideal situation to allow skaters to skate, players to play and defenders to defend.
It would allow things to flow better for sure.

 

[ap3lovr]

I think they should get rid of 5on5 hockey. The trap and collapsing the net has created systems that kill offensive production. Move to 4on4 and you open up the ice, and create a more exciting game. I know some people will hate it, and will feel like it is somehow destroying the game. The reality is 4on4 hockey is a more exciting product.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

what about trying to go more than 3-4 years without fiddling with the game?

I don't see how making nets bigger "fiddles" with the game.

But to your point... If you're fine with things the way they are, then I understand where you're coming from.

Uh... Many people here have been on Loui Eriksson since he got here about not scoring at a 70 point pace. He hasn't. But if he was? He'd likely be entrenched in the top 20 scorers in the NHL this year. A 70 point player is now among the elites in the league.

As okay as some may be with that, I guarantee there are many more who don't share the apathy.

 

[missingchicklet]

I'm against increasing the size of the goal to make for more scoring. The size has never been changed in NHL history as far as I know, nor should it be. Defense has been stressed increasingly in NCAA basketball as well over the years, but they haven't made the rim bigger. Other sports see changes in offensive/defensive balance in addition to hockey. It's just the nature of sports. With today's tech surely some kind of reductions in the size of goalie protective gear can be found. That type of thing I would have no objection to. BTW, goals per game in the NHL has been pretty stable since the late 1990s.

 

[Strange Universe]

I don't know if this is tongue-in-cheek, but consider how much the average size of a goaltender has increased over the years.

Is this not a logical progression of the game?

It doesn't make anyone less safe. And it doesn't change the rules of the game.

Or maybe I'm just... I just think that one of the reasons we saw as many changes as we did after the first lockout of this century is because scoring was down around these levels. The top scorer in the league right now has 72 points in 71 games. We could potentially not see a single player over 90 points this year.

I love the sport, but to me - that's BAD. But maybe I'm just wrong to be thinking like that.

Well, I do not think it is bad to think along these lines but it is something we, the fans may have to accept if this is where we are heading if no changes are made in the near future.
Personally a change is needed because the fans pay the hefty price ticket to watch a game that (we) the fans want to see a hockey game entertainment which scoring goals are a large part of it.

Larger nets as most posters have mentioned should be looked at seriously if this is something that keeps continuing.

 

[Ozamataz Buckshank]

I like Mikey Adams idea, two pucks on the ice at the same time

 

[Hamilton Brian]

Frankly, I don't see a problem. We still see teams that can close out a game in a definitive fashion. Sometimes they do it with 1 or 2 goals. Sometimes it's with 7. At this point, I don't see a need to change anything.

 

[ap3lovr]

I was just discussing this with my teo children the other night.
I believe that with all the goalie equipment that has increased in size and the goalies in general being bigger bodies than years ago have certainly played a role in the decrease of point production.
However, I will also say there is a good amount of players through out the league that are not NHL caliber and are playing because of the amount of teams we have in our NHL league thus a diluted product of players does exist as well.

The easiest solution IMO is to make the net itself a little bigger.
How much bigger? is a good question.
But perhaps if we look at the past when the goalies themselves were smaller in stature in general and their equipment smaller in size and try to bring that comparison into today's game and figure out what the size increase of the goal nets should be.

I don't think a bigger net fixes the problem. The issue is that teams are able to close gaps and keep the puck to the outside. If there is a shot, it has to get through 3 or 4 people to get to the goalie. The seams on the ice are difficult to open up against tougher opponents as they are good at executing their system. A lot of skill has actually been removed from the game by these systems.

Gretz was great at faking the first defender out and stepping into open ice. If he played in the game today he would simply run into the 2nd layer. The integration of the left wing lock in the 90's subsequently ruined the game of hockey. Now every team plays a similar neutral zone strategy. Layer the defense and make the other team dump and chase. Then force them to the outside and collapse the net. Rinse and Repeat.

4on4 hockey, or illegal defensive formation (not sure how you would police it) are the only way to resolve the issue.

 

[BsEuphoria]

Goalie pads need to be smaller

I concur, this is one thing I keep saying as the year goes on. The nets are a tough thing to mess with size-wise for what to shoot at.

 

[Strange Universe]

I'm against increasing the size of the goal to make for more scoring. The size has never been changed in NHL history as far as I know, nor should it be. Defense has been stressed increasingly in NCAA basketball as well over the years, but they haven't made the rim bigger. Other sports see changes in offensive/defensive balance in addition to hockey. It's just the nature of sports. With today's tech surely some kind of reductions in the size of goalie protective gear can be found. That type of thing I would have no objection to. BTW, goals per game in the NHL has been pretty stable since the late 1990s.

I too do not want it just for that purpose but I do want to see that the nets are in proportion to what the goalies equipment has increased over the years.
It seems that the equipment is getting bigger and larger while the net stays the same and I do not think this is fair.
I am not calling for a large change about goal net itself but one that is comparable to how much the equipment has increased over the last while in the NHL.

It is really a tough call to make.

 

[Mr. Make-Believe]

I'm against increasing the size of the goal to make for more scoring. The size has never been changed in NHL history as far as I know, nor should it be. Defense has been stressed increasingly in NCAA basketball as well over the years, but they haven't made the rim bigger. Other sports see changes in offensive/defensive balance in addition to hockey. It's just the nature of sports. With today's tech surely some kind of reductions in the size of goalie protective gear can be found. That type of thing I would have no objection to. BTW, goals per game in the NHL has been pretty stable since the late 1990s.

This is something I haven't researched.

The potential of not only not having a 100 point scorer in the league, but not even a 90 point scorer? To me, that's weak.

And I don't think that scoring at the levels we were seeing in the late 90's right up to the lockout at the turn of the century is something to be happy/satisfied with. I think that's something the NHL went through great strides to fix and now we're seeing the fruits of those changes wither.

Bigger nets don't compromise safety, strategy, game flow or rules. They would just allow for a few of those *dings* off the post to be goals. I don't see how that harms the game.

 

[Strange Universe]

I don't think a bigger net fixes the problem. The issue is that teams are able to close gaps and keep the puck to the outside. If there is a shot, it has to get through 3 or 4 people to get to the goalie. The seams on the ice are difficult to open up against tougher opponents as they are good at executing their system. A lot of skill has actually been removed from the game by these systems.

Gretz was great at faking the first defender out and stepping into open ice. If he played in the game today he would simply run into the 2nd layer. The integration of the left wing lock in the 90's subsequently ruined the game of hockey. Now every team plays a similar neutral zone strategy. Layer the defense and make the other team dump and chase. Then force them to the outside and collapse the net. Rinse and Repeat.

4on4 hockey, or illegal defensive formation (not sure how you would police it) are the only way to resolve the issue.

As I said in another post, international ice rinks would solve the issue for space and better creativity but it would cost too much to do this across the league.

However, if you take the amount of posts that are hit during the year, perhaps these goal posts translate to extra goals because of the difference in height and length out the net if we do make them slightly bigger.

I also believe like I said in my other post that there are too many players in the league that should not be in the NHL league causing poorer play making and poorer creativity and less scoring.
This is not the total story but a piece of it for sure.