NHL Rule changes will affect goalies

The width of pads will be reduced from 12 inches to 10.
HENDERSON, Nev. (AP) -- Life for NHL goalies got a little tougher when general managers came up with significant changes to get more pucks in the net.
During the second day of the meetings, which wrap up today, GMs proposed that goaltenders wear smaller pads and not be allowed to handle the puck behind the goal line.
"I think the couple of changes that we made will really make a difference in how the game is played," Islanders GM Mike Milbury said Tuesday.
The general managers agreed to the suggestions during a five-hour meeting that pre-empted a planned golf outing at a resort near the Las Vegas Strip.
Marathon session
"We're attempting to restrike the balance between offense and defense," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said after the marathon session that also included three members of the players' association and Hall of Fame coach Scotty Bowman.
The width of goalie pads would be reduced from 12 inches to 10 -- where they were before 1989 -- and the players would no longer be allowed to go behind the goal line to get the puck.
"I think the goaltenders now are so good at puck handling, it's difficult to get in and forecheck," said Detroit GM Ken Holland, a former goalie. "They've perfected the position."
Bettman came with a mandate to GMs to produce a better product, and the group put in long hours during two days to achieve that goal.
Scoring has dropped by 21/2 goals per game in the last 15 years to an average of five.
"We now have to go back and take the package and flush it out, make sure we haven't omitted anything or need to clarify something," Bettman said. "Then we have to blend it all together and make sure that it all fits together neatly."
Reaction
New Jersey's Martin Brodeur has no problem with narrower pads, but he and Dallas' Marty Turco have virtually become third defensemen because of their ability to play pucks dumped in behind the nets.
"With the equipment, whatever they want to do is fine with me. But preventing somebody's talent and somebody's reaction, I'm not hurting anybody," Brodeur said after a 4-1 loss to Philadelphia on Tuesday night. "I'm not setting a bad example for kids by playing the puck behind the [goal] line, so I don't know if this is something I should be penalized for.
"But the league is at a state right now that it looks like they don't know what they're doing and they're just looking for ways to try to improve the game. Coming from people that know hockey, it's amazing that they're about to come out with these things."