Protect The Goalies!

Apparently NHL GMs agree to some extent and have vowed to remind their players to protect goaltenders outside of the crease. 

The thing is, how common is the scenario that got Miller hurt? How often are goaltenders hurt coming out to play the puck? How often do goalies come out that far to play the puck? You hardly even see goalies playing the puck behind the net anymore.

The Lucic hit was bad and he probably should have let up sooner, but it’s not a recurring NHL problem.

Ryan Miller (goalie) getting cluttered in the crease

If the NHL is serious about protecting goalies, it needs to look at what teams are doing to their own goaltenders.

How many times have you seen a defenseman shove an opponent into the defenseman’s own goaltender? There’s no statistic tracking this, but it sure happened last season when New York Islander's Blake Comeau (a forward) shoved Ranger's Michael Sauer into Islander goalie Evgeni Nabokov. Nabokov writhed around in pain for a minute or two but was able to finish the game.

Bottom line the NHL needs to take protecting goalies seriously. They are the ones risking the most putting themselves in front of that puck to stop a goal. Without goalies there would be no hockey. After this past season with the many injuries that occurred things need to be taken more seriously.