Goalies could find themselves playing in front of larger nets when the NHL returns to action.

Presto: Bigger ice surface
By Rich Libero | NHL.com
June 8, 2005

MISSISSAUGA, Ont. - The torrent of ideas and concepts continued to flow here on Day 3 of the National Hockey League's Research and Development Camp just outside Toronto.

Wednesday morning's session featured two more intriguing ideas that have NHL front office people starting the countdown to the demise of stagnant, defensive hockey.

The session tested two major rules. The first sounds more complicated than it is, but basically, when an attacking team crosses the blue line and enters an opponent's zone, the center red line becomes the line that the attacking team must hold. If the puck goes out, over the red line, the team must regroup and enter the attacking zone under the traditional method before the red line comes into play again. In effect, the blue lines would be "on" when a team is entering an attacking zone and "off" once it is established.

See exclusive video of Wednesday's camp sessions, and hear Club officials and camp players discuss the action! Video from Tuesday's sessions Video from Monday's sessions 2005 NHL Research and Development Camp More on the R&D camp: "Afternoon delights GMs with two new wrinkles," June 7 "Pondering consequences of the smallest adjustment," June 7 "First day of R&D camp sets wheels in motion," June 6 "For NHL, games like no others," June 2 Overview This three-day camp is broken up into twice-daily sessions running from 8 to 10 a.m. and 2 to 4 p.m. at the Canlan Ice Sports in Etobicoke, Ontario. Two teams composed of overage juniors, college and one minor pro, will play games under varying sets of rules and conditions to determine their validity and impact. Game Conditions: Each day players and officials will operate under the following rules: Obstruction (strong enforcement). Tag up offside rule. Hurry-up faceoff. No touch icing with the following exceptions: an attempted pass or a pinching defenseman. No line changes for team that has just iced the puck. Smaller goalie equipment. Offensive team sets up second (instead of defensive team) on faceoffs. No subs on off-setting penalties. Each game will have three, 15-minute periods. Once concluded, there will be an additional five minutes of 4-on-4 followed by five more minutes of 3-on-3, which is then concluded by a five-man shootout. Goalie Equipment Changes: Leg pads reduced in width to 11 inches from 12, but 10 inches are used in this camp. Pads are sized to fit an individual's body (a player who wears a medium cannot wear an XL). Chest and shoulder protection must follow the contour of the shoulder and must be visible. Blockers are cut from 16 x 8 inches to 15 x 8 inches. Catching glove perimeter is down from 48 inches to 45. Sweater is tailored to contour the body.

Camp planners decided to pair this rule with another twist -- restricting goaltenders from handling the puck outside the crease.

What we witnessed was an incredibly interesting twist on the game. Suddenly, without so much as painting a new line or moving any of the boards, the ice surface looked and felt much bigger. The over-age junior and college players participating in the experiment caught on easily, and it wasn't long before passes were flying back and forth between defensemen and a forward on the half boards.

Some NHL coaches and general manages quickly envisioned running set plays like a half-court offense in basketball, while others pondered the defensive aspects of such a game.

The plusses -- The attacking zone is bigger, play is spread out, there's a chance for pretty plays and more flow. On the downside, teams might dump the puck in more than they already do, and if a team is leading late in the game, how do you stop them from just keeping the puck at the red line and passing it around to kill the clock?

"What we've watched today with the bigger zone; it created more offensive chances," said Atlanta Thrashers GM Don Waddell. "The whole idea of these three days has been great because it shows us some things that can work and some things that can't work."

While Waddell found today's blue line rule to be interesting, he's advocating taking the red line out of the two-line pass situation and moving the blue lines out another five feet. That would make the neutral zone smaller, but give teams a chance to head-man the puck from their own zone.

Waddell's suggestion is just one of many that spawned from some of the greatest hockey minds in the world. At the very least, there is a distinct whiff of change in the air among general managers. For the first time in a long time, it appears as though the game is going to receive an upgrade on several fronts.

General managers appear ready to unanimously bless the use of slimmed-down goaltender pads and it appears as though that will go into effect upon the resumption of the game.

"Sounds like goaltending equipment is a done deal, so that's a start," said Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe.

There is likely to be a greater enforcement of obstruction in center ice, perhaps assigning that task to one of the two referees on the ice. There are many opinions on obstruction and that should make for an interesting debate when general managers reconvene to digest this week's camp.

"A lot to digest -- for everyone," Lowe said. "Obviously it will be a positive, but it will be interesting to see what comes of this."

Other ideas that were deemed as long shots in the past also seem to be getting the thumb's up. Many GMs are favoring the shootout as a means of ending ties after regulation and overtime. Also, the wider nets, those that are simply four inches wider and taller, didn't seem to faze anyone, either.

"I think fans talk about the shootout for its entertainment value, but they also look at why do we have ties," Lowe said.

With shootouts, slimmer pads, wider nets and restrictions on handling the puck, it seems as though goaltenders have yet another target on their chests. Many GMs are looking carefully at restricting puck handling among netminders.

"There are some goalies who handle the puck well and some you want to handle it because they're not so good it," said San Jose GM Doug Wilson.

The idea behind restricting goaltenders from handling the puck has merit. If a goaltender can't get to a dump in, the attacking team has a greater chance of putting the puck into strategic places and setting up a forecheck. Sustained pressure and action at both of ends of the rink should lead to more attack zone time, chances and, logically, goals.

The goalie puck-handling debate will be hotly contested, but it looks as though goaltenders will be the players who find themselves coming back to a drastically different game when the NHL returns to the ice.

"Don't be scared of change," Waddell said. "We may not need to (change a lot of rules), but at least let's look at it."