By Karen Aney (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: January 11, 2012
The NHL is a different league than it once was. Even 20 years ago, the game had a completely different face. The dissolution of the instigator penalties, the move away from letting the players govern themselves, Brendan Shanahan’s explicit and sometimes infuriating explanation videos – many things contribute, but the end result is a more cerebral game with less room for rough contact. This style of play should extend to goaltending as well. Unfortunately, the rules have some catching up to do. What, exactly, should they look like?
The need to address this is evident in many instances, but for the sake of relevance, we’ll look at the two hits on Ryan Miller this season. The first was from big bad Bruin Milan Lucic. The second was from Nashville Predator Jordin Tootoo, less than a month later. Lucic didn’t get the suspension: disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan stated in his explanation video that he believed it was a mistake, saying “I felt… it’s reasonable that he really felt that this was a potential breakaway.” Tootoo, conversely, was suspended for two games for his hit. Controversies aside, these two hits show that this goaltender, at least, isn’t doing so well under the present rule set.
The current rules aren’t sufficient, as they allow too many grey areas and potential for injury. They also don’t protect the opposing team from goaltender violence. So, the NHL can go one of two ways: first, they could make the goalies untouchable – and take away their hitting privileges. Second, they could make goalies open season (to legal hits) outside of the crease, but allow them to hit back.
Goaltender rules have changed quite a bit over the years to get us where we are today. In 1931, a rule was instigated that said attacking players couldn’t obstruct goaltender vision. In 1934, the goaltender could not go more than a single foot from his goal line when a penalty shot was being taken. Things have clearly changed from then – obstructing goaltender vision is a somewhat tolerated tactic today, and goalies can roam as far as their hearts desire during penalty shots. It was 1991 that saw the introduction of goals being disallowed if the crease was touched in any way by an opposing player. In 1999 the rule was amended to being subject to the referee’s view on whether the crease contact impeded the goalie’s abilities at all.
Those are the major rule changes concerning goaltending that have occurred – nothing regarding contact. Given the current climate in the NHL, does this not seem amiss?
The only goalie-specific penalty listed in the rulebook is that they may not use their blocking glove to punch an opponent in the head or face. Given the rules as they currently stand, goaltenders can use their blocking glove to punch arms, throats, stomachs, and so on. The goalie could use their catcher glove to block an opposing player’s field of vision. Heck, they could even use said glove to lovingly cup another player’s face and whisper sweet nothings to him. Or something. That’s sure to be distracting.
In the rulebook, goaltenders are listed as not allowed to commit any of the traditional infractions: hooking, holding, cross checking, and so on. However, we know that they aren’t always called for what they’re doing—see the Stanley Cup Finals for evidence of this—and that players are allowed no retribution. As stated in the rulebook: “In all cases in which an attacking player initiates intentional or deliberate contact with a goalkeeper, whether or not the goalkeeper is inside or outside the goal crease, and whether or not a goal is scored, the attacking player will receive a penalty.” So in theory, a goaltender can cross check an opposing player and if that player even nudges him while getting up, the power play (if it was even awarded in the first place) is negated.
The rulebook even cites what seems to be a common refrain in most local watering holes: “A goalkeeper is not “fair game” just because he is outside the goal crease area.” These rules, though, are just helping the goalies do their jobs unhindered by pesky opponents. If a goalie chooses to go halfway to the blueline to forecheck a player, shouldn’t that player have the right to lay a legal (by any other means) hit on him?
The defence to this is that their equipment makes them a slow-moving target. This is true. However, they also are fully aware of this hindrance. Having a rule in place to allow goaltenders to work around this is unreasonable – at the NHL level, it’s clear they know exactly how fast they can skate and how well they can manoeuvre. If they choose to take a calculated risk playing a puck, that’s their decision – a comparable rule would be the one that requires all players wear a helmet. Again, this is the NHL instigating a rule for player safety – but, helmets protect against loose pucks and unpredictable contact that can’t always be avoided and is a danger both on the ice and on the bench. Being hit by a player on open ice can be avoided by staying crouched in the crease.
Going back to the dual hits on Miller this season, Sabres general manager Darcy Regier told media that he was satisfied with the suspension of Tootoo. “We all realize that, when you’re talking about 30 starting goaltenders – the significance of that position, the fact that they’ve never been trained to either hit or take hits – they need and deserve the protection when they’re outside the net playing the puck.” Given the fact that the average goalie this season in the NHL is just shy of six feet and 200 pounds, perhaps it’s time to start training them to take hits? Their size certainly doesn’t preclude them from contact.
The unfortunate thing about the discrepancies between what’s allowed from and on a goalie is that it can’t change overnight. This is a stance that needs to begin in the minor leagues, where future NHL level players are being trained. Allowing goalies to be hit would create a more equal playing experience for everyone on the ice, but the years of experience necessary mean that this isn’t something that can be instigated by next season. Because of that, the only choice that’s left is really to take away goalie contact altogether. The players can’t touch goalies, goalies can’t touch the players. Accidental contact is one thing, but goalies cannot be allowed to leave their crease, check a player, and be untouchable in the process. Given the current style of play and the time it would take to allow more contact to goalies, the choice is clear: goalies need to be left alone. Further, they need to leave everyone else alone too.
