No Padding New Rules for Goalies

Why start penalizing goaltenders now for using equipment that has been illegal for years?

“Why not?” said NHL Senior Vice President Brian Burke, who is overseeing a crackdown by the league.

Starting Dec. 15, goalies must comply with existing but seldom-enforced limits on the size of their pads and blockers. Equipment will be measured randomly, without warning, and violators will be suspended without pay and subjected to frequent testing. Leg pads can measure only 12 inches at their widest, and blockers can’t exceed eight inches wide and 16 inches high.

Coaches have long speculated about the size of equipment used by Colorado’s Patrick Roy--which Burke said was legal--Florida’s John Vanbiesbrouck and the New York Rangers’ Mike Richter, among others. They had good reason.

“If it’s by that much,” King goalie Stephane Fiset said, holding his fingers a quarter-inch apart, “lots of goalies were not legal. If you’re talking one inch, two inches, maybe five or 10 were not legal.”

Mighty Duck Coach Ron Wilson was sure many goalies bent the rules, saying, “Last year I told our goalies, ‘Everybody else is cheating, you might as well cheat too. Wear illegal equipment.’ ”

Burke said there was no reason for the new vigilance besides an agreement by general managers and governors that the rule should be enforced. Players, teams and equipment manufacturers will have had five months’ warning, and each team got identical measuring devices to test goalies’ gear.

“Our goal is to have zero suspensions and also to have complete compliance,” Burke said. “We’ve given them adequate time and notice. It’s not a fairness issue. We’re not making them shrink equipment.”

However, the NHL Players Assn. contended that goalies are being unfairly singled out, because a skater with an illegal stick would be penalized and his stick removed from the game but he wouldn’t be suspended. Burke doesn’t buy that.

“It’s a poor analogy to compare to a shooter,” Burke said. “Take, for example, Paul Kariya. If he has a real good night, he has five good scoring chances. That’s his chance to influence a game. A goalie plays every minute with illegal equipment and influences the game every time he faces a shot. That could be 40 times a game.”

Goalies acknowledge that the crackdown is overdue and are prepared. To be safe, the Kings’ Byron Dafoe ordered 11 1/2-inch pads to allow for expansion after they get wet or have been pounded.

“My stuff is pretty much legal, but there’s guys that are over by way too far,” said Chicago’s Ed Belfour. “I think it’s good that they enforce the rules. I guess they want to improve the offense in the league, and this is one way of doing it.”

CHIP OFF THE OLD BLOCK

The knock on Brett Hull early in his career was that he had a world of talent and had inherited a mean shot from his father, Bobby, but he was too lazy to use those gifts. Calgary, which drafted him 117th overall in 1984, gave up on him after only 57 games, trading him to St. Louis with Steve Bozek for Rob Ramage and Rick Wamsley.

Brett, 32, matured into a dynamic offensive force and capable defensive player. His 86 goals in 1990-91 stand as the NHL single-season record for a right wing, and he has been voted to the postseason all-star team three times. If there were an all-quotable team, he would be on that every year.

All of that merits mention, with Brett at 496 goals, putting him and his father on the brink of becoming the first father and son to have scored 500 each in the NHL.

As Brett has matured, he has begun to look and sound more like his father, speaking in the same raspy tone and flashing the same wide grin.

“The line [Bobby] uses is, ‘I’ve got more ability in my little finger than he ever had,’ ” Brett said. “That’s a farce, because we all know how good he was.”

Bobby was great. Brett’s not bad, either.

TOCCHET IS TICKED

Boston Bruin Coach Steve Kasper gets points for guts. But guttiness might not bring his team points in the standings.

Kasper last week held Rick Tocchet out of the lineup against Philadelphia, the first time in 14 seasons Tocchet sat out a game when he wasn’t ill or injured. Tocchet’s feistiness and quickness around the net have made him a premier forward for years, but constant pounding has caught up with him and cost him that vital split-second in getting to the puck. He had six goals in 18 games and was on the fourth line.

Kasper, who last season ignited a controversy when he had Kevin Stevens and Cam Neely dress for a game but kept them on the bench, said he “went with the lineup I thought would be most effective against the Philadelphia Flyers.”

Tocchet, who came back to score a goal in the next game, said he expected to be traded. A knee injury postponed any move.

“Sure it bothers me. And it frustrates me,” he said of the benching. “It’s an uncomfortable situation.”

Kasper is in a horrible situation too, stuck with a bunch of fading veterans and retreads. Neely was hobbled because of injuries, and Kasper had to act based on what Neely was capable of then, not five years ago. The same is true of Tocchet, who doesn’t want to take physical punishment anymore.

Stevens defended Tocchet and questioned what Kasper had done to earn the right to bench him, telling the Boston Globe, “If they have 20 better players than Tocchet, I’ll eat your newspaper. If they have two better players, I’ll eat your newspaper.”

With catsup or mustard?

And on the topic of earning respect, what has Stevens done without Mario Lemieux putting pinpoint passes on his stick? Twice a 50-goal scorer in Pittsburgh, Stevens had 10 goals in 41 games with Boston and three in 20 with the Kings. In 23 games this season, he has three goals in 67 shots, a 4.5% shooting percentage. Even Shaquille O’Neal’s free-throw percentage is better.

Kasper is doing an unpleasant but necessary job. Too bad the Bruins, who last season made a $14.2-million profit, according to the Globe, aren’t sinking that money back into their roster and making Kasper’s life easier.

IF YOU CAN’T STAND THE HEAT . . .

Center Doug Gilmour, frustrated by Toronto’s 3-9 slump, threw a stick in the direction of assistant coach Mike Kitchen during a practice last week.

He missed, which sums up the Maple Leafs’ season. Losers of eight consecutive road games, they are slow up front and soft on defense. Only Mats Sundin, with 15 goals and 34 points, provides much offensive spark.

SLAP SHOTS

A three-way deal that would have sent Hartford defenseman Paul Coffey to Philadelphia via Phoenix fell apart last week. The Whalers pulled off the table a four-year, $12-million deal they had offered Coffey in hopes of persuading him to stay. . . . The Detroit Red Wings began contract talks with Sergei Fedorov’s agent, Mike Barnett. Fedorov can become a restricted free agent after the season.

Expect to see more of Detroit rookie Kevin Hodson as the Red Wings decide whether to trade him or Mike Vernon to break their three-goalie logjam. . . . How much longer can Tampa Bay Coach Terry Crisp last, with the Lightning in a 2-13-2 nose dive? . . . The Calgary Sun asked readers to analyze the Flames’ woes. Said one: “The Flames just stink. I think they should have Jack Kevorkian as their team doctor.”

Brian Leetch of the New York Rangers took the scoring lead among defensemen with a 14-game point-scoring streak. He has six goals and 20 points in that span and 29 overall. . . . Play well for Mike Keenan, and you may have a job for life. Keenan, who likes to reacquire players who did well for him with other teams, last week brought Mike Peluso from New Jersey to St. Louis. “He learned well when he was in Chicago and he hasn’t forgotten,” Keenan said. That great teacher in Chicago? Keenan, of course.

Toronto winger Sergei Berezin will undergo surgery this week on his right wrist and will sit out two weeks. . . . Bernie Nicholls had four goals in San Jose’s first five games but didn’t score again until he had a short-hander against St. Louis on Sunday. . . . No wonder the NHL has, at least temporarily, scrapped thoughts of a two-referee system. There aren’t enough competent referees to guarantee one good one per game.

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The 500 Club

St. Louis right wing Brett Hull is four goals from 500. But he still has a way to go to catch his father, Bobby, who scored 610 for Chicago, Winnipeg and Hartford. The NHL’s 500-goal scorers:

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Player Games Goals 1. W. Gretzky* 1,280 847 2. Gordie Howe 1,767 801 3. Marcel Dionne 1,348 731 4. Phil Esposito 1,282 717 5. Mike Gartner* 1,314 677 6. Bobby Hull 1,063 610 7. Jari Kurri* 1,125 588 8. Mike Bossy 752 573 9. M. Lemieux* 691 573 10. D. Ciccarelli* 1,102 565 11. Guy Lafleur 1,126 560 12. John Bucyk 1,540 556 13. M. Messier* 1,226 553 14. Michel Goulet 1,089 548 15. M. Richard 978 544 16. Stan Mikita 1,394 541 17. F. Mahovlich 1,181 533 18. Bryan Trottier 1,279 524 19. S. Yzerman* 968 517 20. G. Perreault 1,191 512 21. D. Hawerchuk* 1,158 511 22. Jean Beliveau 1,125 507 23. L. McDonald 1,111 500

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