I’m going to come to my main point quickly today. The NHL has a ‘small’ problem related to concussions and other injuries. And the problem is... its ice surface is too small for the size and speed of the modern player.
[Pat LaFontaine: “Early in the ’93 - ’94 season he suffered a serious knee injury that kept him off the ice for a year and a half.” Celebrating the Game, A. Podnieks]
The game of organized hockey was born on the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal in 1875. The ice rink was 204 ft. x 80 ft. It had an area of 16,320 sq. ft. for nine-man teams, each player being no more than 3 ft. 9 in. tall (so I’ve heard).
The game of modern-day NHL hockey is played on an ice surface 200 ft. x 85 ft. (regulation size) with an area of 17,000 sq. ft. (a small 4.2% increase in size from 1875) for six-man teams. However, the players have grown so big and fast over the years that more concussions and injuries will be the order of the day until the puck is dropped on larger ice surfaces.
(I suggested earlier than playing with five-man teams would also reduce the risk of injury. Larger rinks would be my primary solution).
[Pat LaFontaine: “A worse injury befell him though, on October 17,1996, another date he won’t soon forget.”]
Yesterday I wrote the following:
“Today, a defenseman is 4.6% taller and 16% heavier than those in the 1960s. The increase, I’m certain, would be far greater if we went even farther back in time, to the very days when the modern size of the rink surface was born.”
Surprisingly, I proved myself wrong when I compared the height and weight of the 1930 - 31 Boston Bruins to that of today’s team. The early Bruins were a tall bunch of boys and today’s defense is only 3.3% taller. However, they are 17.8% heavier. More beef between the buns of the modern burger has something to do with that, I suppose.
Because I had the complete roster in hand for both teams, I decided to look at the overall change in height and weight over the course of 80 years, bearing in mind that the Bruins played at The Boston Gardens in the ‘30s (191 x 83 ft., or 15, 853 sq. ft., one of the smaller NHL ice surfaces) and now play at the Fleet Center on NHL regulation size ice (7.24% bigger in area).
[Pat LaFontaine: “He took an elbow to the head and suffered a serious concussion, so serious that not only did he miss almost another year but the Sabres didn’t want him back for fear of contributing to a more serious injury.”]
The average height and weight of the entire Bruin team (excluding goalies) in 1930 - 31 was 5 ft. 10.6 in. and 172.6 lb. Today’s team stands at (on average, excl. goalies) 6 ft. 1 in. and weighs in at 202.5 lb.
The Fleet Center can certainly accommodate the 3.33% increase in height of players (sure, Zdeno Chara, at 6 ft. 9 in. and 255 lb. has been known to bump into the odd door frame), but, in my opinion, the current ice size cannot easily accommodate the 17.3% increase in their overall weight. (I’m certain other NHL teams have also seen the same increases in growth. What are they eating for supper these days?)
In addition, couple the obvious increase in player size with a clear increase in the speed of the game (shifts have decreased from 2 - 3 minutes to 30 - 45 seconds in length since the 1960s) and a perfect environment has been created to see an increase in aggression, violent contact, concussions and several other injuries.
[Pat Lafontaine: “He started fresh with the New York Rangers, in ’97 - ’98, but just when things looked like everything would be fine, they weren’t.”]
The international rink has an area of 19,600 sq. ft. (15.3% bigger than an NHL regulation pad) and I propose that the NHL adopt the international rink size, as soon as possible, or go one better and build rinks of 220 ft. x 100 ft., producing a playing surface of 22,000 sq. ft., because the way players are growing and shifts are shrinking, the NHL will require the added space by 2020 or 2030.
Players with brainpans take notice. Modern NHL rinks are too small. You’ll live longer on bigger ice!
[Pat LaFontaine: “LaFontaine played 67 games (w the Rangers) and scored 23 goals, but in the 67th game he suffered another concussion. This time he called it quits...]
In my opinion, if player safety is in fact a priority with players, coaches, general managers and the league commissioner, simple tinkering with the rule book or adding a five-point plan will not be enough.
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Please click here to read PT 5 of the same series - The NHL has a ‘small’ problem.
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