The trapezoid lives

In a victory for quadrilaterals everywhere, the NHL’s general managers voted today to keep the “trapezoid,” the lines that limit where the goalie can handle the puck behind the net. From the stories I read in Toronto, some thought the trapezoid would be removed as a way to increase player safety. The thought was that if more goalies played the pucks, fewer defensemen would have to, and fewer defensemen would get smashed/injured by forecheckers.

The league’s general managers meet four times a year, and this round of meetings will conclude tomorrow with the hottest of the hot-button topics: hits to the head. Will they be banned? It’s a tough issue. Personally, I think the hit from behind, specifically, is a better thing to discuss. Hits to the head, they happen, but reckless hits from behind can be avoided. So it will be interesting to see what the owners come up with, especially with the trapezoid off the table. Everyone seems uncomfortable with the subject. It seems as though team executives would rather not legislate against certain types of hits, but hesitate to appear heartless when it comes to injured players. The feeling out of Toronto was that hits to the head would not be outright banned.

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