HodgeMail: Goalie Protection

This morning, I see there is a new question for the segment of HodgeMail, likely for tonight's broadcast of the Bruins and Flyers game.  The question to ponder over is "Does the NHL need to provide more protection for goalies, and if so, how?"

I did start this blog post with a bit of rant, but I then shook my head and thought, well, let's answer the question before we go all apeshit on the subject.

So, to answer the question, I say no.  The NHL does not need to provide anymore protection on the goaltenders, because there is plenty of protection written into the rules already, but the discretion of the officials on the ice is what seems to be the issue in question.  It may not be a level of protection, more than a level of enforcement or clarity of the rule to be more black and white to the officials on the ice.

I've always been a fan of the subjectivity of how the game is being played in the playoffs and how it relates to how penalties get called.  In the traditional sense, the smaller, chincy calls of tripping, holding and interference were often pushed aside for both teams in order to maintain a hard-fought game and/or series.  It's hard to say whether or not this is being taken into account for goaltender intereference, but I suppose it can be taken into account some times.  I don't think it's a rule that should be subjective, personally, but I'm also not an NHL official.

Possibly, it is just a matter of saying to the officials that it will not be tolerated at any point in the game, much like high-sticking, boarding and other types of major calls.  That's all I could really hope for, but remembering that we will likely never hear about what the actual result is, we'll just have to take what we can get and continue to yell at our televisions as if they can hear us.