Cory Schneider spits hot truth on his goalie peers’ gargantuan gear

If you want more goals, then shrink the goalies. 

That seems to be the most agreed-upon first step in attempting to “fix” the NHL’s “problem” with goals scored, a debate that’s now in its “third decade” of existence. (These are all sarcastic air quotes.)

And since restrictions on how tall goalies can be is straight up height discrimination, the only way we can shrink the goalies is to shrink their gear.

The only way we’re going to get them to shrink their gear is if we can get past the “player safety” blocker they use to deflect all criticism shot their way. And perhaps the only way that can happen is if their peers are the ones to call them out.

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Which brings us to Cory Schneider, New Jersey Devils goalie and member of the NHL’s competition committee. In a recent conversation with Pierre LeBrun of ESPN.com, he explained what needs to change for goalies and why the “player safety” concerns are basically a smoke screen:

“I think the key word we used is ‘contoured,'” said Schneider. “Again, we want to make sure guys are protected, that’s No. 1, that’s what we talked about. They’re making things out of Kevlar now and reinforced plastic. I get the odd stinger or bruises but I’m not sure how many games have been lost to puck-related injuries from goalies. Safety is paramount but I think we have the materials now where we can create smaller, lighter and faster and guys can still be protected.”

… “There are no holes on goalies anymore,” said Schneider. “And if a puck goes through a guy it’s considered a bad goal these days. I don’t know if it’s an equipment issue or goalies are just that good, but I think you can reasonably ask the question: If a guy has a 32-inch waist, does he really need a 42-inch waist pant? Is that protecting him or is that just taking up area? So I think we’re just trying to take that middle ground between protection and taking up space.”

Again, as Schneider says, it may still be a case of goalie technique and skill being so far ahead of the shooters in the modern game that the equipment tweak won’t matter.

But it’s worth a shot, especially if the goalies themselves acknowledge the playing field isn’t even.

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Greg Wyshynski is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at [email protected] or find him on Twitter. His book, TAKE YOUR EYE OFF THE PUCK, is available on Amazon and wherever books are sold.

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