While NHL hockey has had its fair share of rule changes over the years there have been a few constants, such as the basic size of the ice surface and the nets.
The regulation size for a hockey net in the NHL and most other top professional and amateur leagues is 6 feet (72 inches, 183 centimetres) wide by 4 feet (48 inches, 122 centimetres) tall. The net is also 40 inches (102 centimetres) deep with the top section from the crossbar back being 22 inches (55 centimetres) deep.
NHL Net Size History
Hockey nets haven’t been around forever as many years ago enterprising players simply placed two large stones on the ice to represent the goal posts. The stones were later replaced by a pair of sticks which were rammed into the ice and this method lasted until approximately 1890. A goal judge or umpire stood behind the primitive goal and would wave his handkerchief whenever a puck crossed the goal line.
Around 1895 pipes were introduced to the hockey goal as posts and these were held stable by a horizontal bar which today is known as the crossbar. This gave the goal a frame to which netting, rope or twine was attached to make an early hockey net which could catch pucks that entered it. In general, these nets were the same height and width, making them a square shape.
They became popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in Canadian cities such as Halifax and Montreal and soon spread across the nation. A pair of back posts and a crossbar was placed behind the front of the frame to give the net some depth. This was done to help stop puck from rebounding back into play after it had crossed the goal line.
When the National Hockey Association (NHA) played its first season in 1910 the official hockey net was much the same as it is today at 4 feet high and 6 feet wide. The depth at the base was 22 inches though and the depth at the top was then 17 inches.
The net was redesigned in 1928 when a double semicircle was added to the back of it to help trap pucks in it that were shot from any angle.
The double semicircle style of net was replaced in the 1980s in the NHL as it could cause serious damage if a player slid into the bottom of it. Once infamous injury occurred in 1980 when defenceman Mark Howe of the Hartford Whalers suffered a deep cut to his lower back after sliding into the goal and the lower section impaled him. This resulted in the league reverting to the straight-back net style.
Before 1990 the goal line in the NHL was approximately 10 feet in front of the end boards. In the 1990-91 season it was moved forward a foot which gave players 11 feet of space behind each goal line. In 1988-99 the goal line was moved gain to 13 feet in front of the boards but was moved back to 11 feet in 2005-06. Also the depth of the net was reduced from 44 inches to 40 inches in 2013-14.
How does an Ice Hockey Net remain in Place?
The NHL and many other leagues used strong magnets to secure the net to the ice between 1986 and 1991 but before that they used strong steel pipes. Magnets were placed into the ice and the steel posts would sit on top of them. However, the leagues found that the nets were too easy to dislodge and the magnetic system was replaced.
These days, flexible plastic/rubber piping is used as pegs and the hollow goalposts sit on top of them. The nets are designed to come off of their moorings if they’re lifted and with heavy impacts to help reduce injuries to players and officials.
What are Ice Hockey Nets Made With?
The actual netting is made of high-quality knotless, polypropylene/polyester/nylon to make sure it doesn’t rip when struck by the hardest of shots. The posts and crossbar are built with galvanized steel. However, less-sturdy plastic or aluminum nets can be found for children, street hockey and practising with etc and are generally used when playing with a ball not a puck.
How Heavy is an Ice Hockey Net?
A typical ice hockey net weighs between 40 and 50 lbs with most of the weight being found in the steel posts and crossbar.
What are the NHL Goal Crease Dimensions?
The goal crease is a shaded blue area of the ice with a red border directly in front of each net. An NHL crease is eight feet in width with a six-foot semi-circle on top of it. Since the net is six feet in width it means the crease area extends one foot past each goal post. The crease also extends out onto the ice a total of four feet at its deepest spot.
Have the Crease Dimensions Changed Over Time?
In the 1933-1934 NHL campaign the league introduced an L-shaped boundary which measured 8 feet wide by 5 feet deep in front of each net which was the first known version of the goal crease.
The crease as we know it today came into use in 1934-35 and in 1939-40 it was reduced in size to 7 feet wide by 3 feet deep. In 1951-52 the crease was enlarged to 8 by 4 feet and in 1986-1987 to 1989-1990 a semi-circle crease was added to the traditional rectangular crease.
Between 1991-1992 and 1994-1995 the rectangular goal crease was replaced with a semi-circle/half-moon shaped crease and the size went from 24 to 44 square feet.
In addition, L-shaped lines five inches long were painted just inside the edge of the half-moon crease. In 1998-1999 the size of the crease changed to extend just one foot beyond each post to a width of 8 feet.
How Big is the NHL Trapezoid? (Behind Goal)
Behind each NHL goal line you will see slanted lines which form what is known as the trapezoid area. Goaltenders have to remain in this 28-foot lined-off, area if they want to play the puck when it is behind the goal line of the rink.
This rule was introduced in 2004-05 as a way to make it more difficult for netminders to clear the puck from their defensive zone. If a goalie plays the puck outside of this trapezoid area when it is behind the goal line it results in a two-minute minor penalty, which can be served by a teammate who was on the ice at the time rather than the goaltender.
The trapezoid area was expanded two feet from the goal posts on each side of the net in 2014-15. This means the area is now extended to eight feet from each goal post and reaches back to the end boards.
Can You Buy an Official NHL Sized Hockey Net?
Yes, sports stores and online outlets sell Official-sized hockey nets but they’re usually designed slightly differently. For instance, check out this net here on Amazon:
How Big Are Hockey Goalie Pads? (Is there a size limit?)
The NHL changed its goalie equipment rules in 2019 when the arm chest and shoulder pads were to be reduced in size. The leg pads were first limited in size in 1925 when they were set at 12 inches in width.
But by the 1990s, goalies were wearing huge shoulder pads, chest protectors and sweaters and in 2003-04 scoring goals was hard to come by as the league average per game was just 2.57, which was the lowest since the 1955-56 season and well below the 1980s when the lowest campaign was 3.67 per team. The league started cracking down on equipment size in 2005 as the gear was reduced in size by 11 percent and goal-scoring rose to 3.08 goals a contest.
Leg pads had to be 11 inches in width at the most and blockers were reduced in size to 15 inches from 16 inches in 2019. In addition, the maximum circumference for catching gloves was set at 45 inches, down from 48 inches. Slimmer goalie pants were put into effect in February, 2018, partway through the 2017-18 season.
In 2019, the rules stated that arm and chest padding has to be anatomically proportional. In effect, all shoulder and arm pads reduced by approximately one inch. Again, scoring per game increased to the highest rate per game since 2005-06.
Final Thoughts
It wasn’t abnormal to see goaltenders in the 1980s who measured between 5-feet-8 and 6 feet in height. In today’s game anything under 6 feet is considered short for a netminder with most of them being well over 6 feet.
This means modern-day goalies still cover a large portion of the net when they play their angles properly and it was one of the major reasons the NHL reduced the size of their equipment.
The NHL is unlikely to reduce goalie equipment size again or increase the size of the nets unless scoring goes down drastically for several seasons in a row. The odds of that happening though are pretty low.
Jamie is the founder of Hockey Response and he is the chief writer/ lead editor. Jamie has been playing hockey for over 20 years. He was the defenseman of the year in NL and has played Jr A level hockey. Jamie has coached several kids hockey camps and he was the assistant coach of the Western Kings.