More concerning ‘The NHL has a small problem’ Series

Modern day NHL players have increased in height, weight and speed by huge amounts compared to players from the 1880s.

Remember Moons Malone, aka Moons the Goon, or simply The Goon?

Moons played during the game’s infancy (e.g., in the 1860s, when the game was called “Smackafrozenhorseturd” - always expressed in one word), and when the average size of the players was 3’ 9” tall.

Moons earned 3 cents per game, whittled his own sticks, signed his first contract with an X and stood out because he was, or so I’ve heard, the first player to surpass 4 feet in height.


["P. Larouche, 5 ft. 11 in., 175 lb., 1976. How would his size compare to today's average player?": photo GH]

He’d still stand out today if he was alive. And why?

Because most NHL players are 60 - 70% taller than Moons, three times as heavy and could eat Moons’ weight in burgers between shifts.

However, in spite of the huge increase in size and weight and speed of today’s players, they blast around on an ice surface only 4.2% larger than their predecessors.

Is that enough ice for today’s game?

Stay tuned for PT 5 - The NHL has a ‘small’ problem.

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Please click here to read PT 4 of the same series - The NHL has a ‘small’ problem.

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