Andersen trimming down before his pads do

No. 1 goaltender looks slimmer and more explosive after summer of counting calories

It’s become an annual ritual for NHL goaltenders: Training camp arrives and so, eventually, does a representative of the league office, making the rounds to take key measurements.

Long concerned that netminders are wearing excessively bulky equipment to gain an advantage, the league has sent envoys to measure goalies for streamlined pants that were rolled out in February, and for the form-fitting chest protectors expected to be introduced at a still-to-be-determined date. The idea is to make the equipment size-appropriate, so that twig-thin netminders don’t balloon into brickhouse behemoths based solely on triple-XL choices.

In a recent interview, Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen said he supports the league’s effort to reduce the size of equipment. Still, his most recent tape-measure examination at the hands of the league got Andersen to thinking.

“It’s like, ‘If you gain a bunch of weight before you’re measured, you can wear bigger equipment,’ ” Andersen said. “Mind you, the sports science guys probably wouldn’t like that idea.”

As Andersen spoke, a member of the Leafs’ sports-science department was within earshot. They shared a laugh and the goaltender shrugged.

“Should have worn a sumo suit (to the fitting),” Andersen said.

Andersen was joking, for the record. As a goaltender who spent the past handful of seasons wearing a relatively ancient and well-worn upper-body protector — one Andersen figures is smaller than the league-mandated models will be — he says he’s unconcerned about the potential consequences of any impending change. If the rule change puts skill and athleticism at a premium, he’s all for it.

“It’ll be an advantage for me,” Andersen said.

Andersen, at six-foot-four and about 230 pounds, figures there are smallerframed colleagues around the league who can’t say the same thing.

“I know that some really skinny guys are looking pretty big right now,” Andersen said.

“But you’ve seen me without the gear on. You know how much space I take up anyway. I welcome it.”

You didn’t need a down-to-the-inch measurement of Andersen’s chest protector to know Andersen looked like a world-class puck stopper in Wednesday’s season-opening victory in Winnipeg. His 35-save performance steadied the Leafs, especially when they were outplayed in the early going of a 7-2 win over the Jets. And it was the way Andersen moved — with a control and an explosiveness that surpassed any of his previous work in the Leafs crease — that suggested his offseason labours have more than paid off.

Far from carb-loading to fatten up for his equipment sizing, Andersen got leaner thanks to a careful examination of his diet. Save for some indulgences during a late-summer trip to Italy’s Amalfi Coast to celebrate the wedding of longtime pal Andrew Cogliano of the Anaheim Ducks, Andersen said he paid unprecedented attention to what he ate, essentially adding more protein while keeping his calorie count to an optimal daily number. A sparer frame should make him both quicker in the crease and better able to recover during the season’s monthslong grind. And given there isn’t a more irreplaceable player on the roster than the 28-year-old Dane, his commitment to the regimen could prove vital to Toronto’s success.

A goalie, of course, is far more important than his goalie equipment. Still, details matter. And it’s an interesting twist that Andersen is currently breaking in a new chest protector. This is not, mind you, one of the streamlined models that promise to shave off a couple of inches in width and about three inches in over-the-shoulder height from the average goalie’s net coverage. The league had hoped to roll those out to begin this season but Kay Whitmore, the NHL’s goalie supervisor, said some of the major equipment manufacturers were too slow in supplying the pros with the goods.

“We do not have a lot of control over how long it takes for manufacturers to reach the standard we set, and to get the product to the goalies. That’s the frustrating part about it,” Whitmore said.

Given that some goaltenders weren’t pleased with the midseason rollout of slimmed-down pants back in February, it’s a decent bet the league waits until the beginning of next season to implement the formfitting chest protectors. Whitmore, mind you, said a decision on timing has yet to be made.

In the interim, Andersen has discarded his old-model chest protector at the behest of Toronto goalie coach Steve Briere, who figured it was becoming unsafe.

“The old one, there were holes everywhere,” Andersen said.

Andersen said the new protector, along with being heftier on padding, is stiffer than he’s used to. Not that it showed Wednesday night.

“When you put this on brand new, it feels like you can’t move your arms,” Andersen said. “I’d actually prefer having a little bit smaller one. If you move well in it, that’s the main thing.”

Indeed, when the league introduced smaller goal pads in an effort to increase scoring a few years ago, the league-average save percentage actually improved. One theory had it that the lighter pads, if they covered slightly less real estate, made goaltenders a smidgeon quicker.

Andersen said he’s not sure if the streamlined pants had the same effect. But according to numbers provided by Randy Robles of the Elias Sports Bureau, the league average save percentage actually got better after the new pants were put in place on Feb. 4, rising from .912 to .916. Those numbers should be taken with a grain of salt, since the league traditionally tightens as the season rolls on.

Still, it’s possible they underlined a point Andersen was happy to make: No matter the regulations, goaltenders have shown an aptitude for finding an edge. “Goalies will eventually figure out the best way to stop a puck,” he said.

One small step down a long and winding road, Andersen certainly has the look of a man in his prime whose calculations are coming up correct.