Sidney Crosby wouldn’t mind seeing smaller goalie gear.
Suggestions to increase goal scoring were brought up at the annual November general managers meetings. At Wednesday’s morning skate in Pittsburgh, Crosby was asked if he thought there’s a need for more scoring.
“Yes, absolutely,” he said, smiling. “I don’t have to think about that one… I think that any way to create more goals, I think that teams are so prepared now, the way guys block shots, they’re wearing protection on their feet and their hands to get in front of shots.
“The goalies are 6-foot-5 and athletic and big, you just need to find ways to be creative and hopefully kind of create that little bit that you can without hopefully changing too much.”
Over the years there have been a few suggestions put forward to increase scoring, from bigger nets, to penalizing players for going on the ice to block a shot, which was proposed by former Montreal GM Bob Gainey in 2008.
“I remember my first year was kind of very odd to see a defenceman lay down, and if they did coaches would tell you they’re out of position take advantage of that,” Crosby said. “Every shift now defenceman lying down to block a passing lane or block a shot.”
#Pens Sidney Crosby has 7 points through 14 games. He had 24 points through 14 games last season.
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) November 11, 2015
One thing the NHL has tried is to decrease the size of goaltender equipment, which has ballooned since the high-scoring 1980s, something Crosby thinks could help.
“I’m pretty traditional, don’t want to see the nets get bigger or anything like that, but if we can adjust the gear to help with that I don’t see a big problem with that as long as they’re still protected.”
