Why did the NHL change the hockey nets base shape?

Question

It use to be m shaped, now its c shaped. did someone get injured?

Answer 1

the nets and anchors that hold them in place have changed for the better many times the c is less likely to tip over compared to the M.Plus the puck had an easier time coming back out on a goal from the old style.

Answer 2

Mark Howe, the son of Gordie Howe, impaled himself on one. He later recovered, but from what I hear it was pretty gruesome.

Right in the torso too I think...

I think he was with the Rangers at the time.

But that's the reason, you guessed right.

Answer 3

Yeah the pointy part harpooned some guys leg but I can't remember who it was...sorry.

Answer 4

Like J.O. said the net base has changed many times over the years.

But the biggest change came after the gory Mark Howe injury when he was with Hartford Whalers. In the middle of the M-shaped base was a long, pointed thin and flat piece of metal that rested on the ice.

From what I remember Howe was knocked down and was sliding sort of backwards into the net, and just as he got there the net was tipped up and he was essentially stabbed by this piece of the net in the groin area of the inner leg and into the lower abdomen. It was like being stabbed with a sword.

He was in rough shape, lost 35 pounds and was out of hockey for a long time. Hartford didn't think he would make it back and they traded him to Philly. Howe recovered and went on to have an all-star career with the Flyers and later with Detroit.

Answer 5

It speared a few people who crashed into it, most notably Wayne Gretzky.