Goalie equipment: what the rulebooks measure, piece by piece.

All three rulebooks we read start from the same principle. Apart from skates and stick, a goaltender's equipment must be made only to protect, and nothing may give undue help in keeping goal: the IIHF's 2026/27 Rule 11.1, the NHL's 2026-27 Rule 11.1 and Hockey Canada's 2026-28 Rule 3.5(a) all say so. Hockey Canada also bans abdominal aprons that extend down the thighs outside the pants. The rest is measurement.

Leg pads

The NHL goes further: its Hockey Operations Department measures each goaltender and gives a "Limiting Distance Size", and pads too tall for that goalie are illegal even if they would have passed under earlier maximums. Hockey Canada measures pads on the goalie, standing, with four taps on each pad allowed to bring them into line.

How the NHL got here

The Boston Globe's October 2013 history of the pad rules says pad width rose from 10 to 12 inches in 1989-90, length was capped at 38 inches in 2003-04, and width was cut back to 11 inches in 2005-06. From 2010-11, it says, a pad could rise no more than 55% of the distance from the centre of the knee to the pelvis, tightened to 45% for 2013-14; Oilers Nation dates the 55% rule to summer 2011 instead. The 45% figure is the one in the 2026-27 rulebook. Scouting the Refs reported further cuts in 2018-19 to elbow floaters, clavicle protectors and goalie pants, which match the current text.

Catching glove and blocker

Hockey Canada adds that the webbing between thumb and index finger must not exceed the minimum needed to fill the gap with both fully spread, and that any other pocket or pouch makes the glove illegal. It does not count binding and stitching in its measurements, while the IIHF and NHL include it. The IIHF's figures have also moved: its 2011 measurement standards gave a 114.3 cm perimeter and a 10.16 cm cuff width, against 114.5 cm and 10.5 cm in 2026/27.

Chest and arm protector

• IIHF 2026/27, Rule 11.3: proportioned and sized to the individual goalie, with no raised ridges. Side rib layering may be no thicker than the front blocks. The unit is illegal if the shoulder cap rises above the shoulder's contour in a normal crouch.
• NHL 2026-27, Rule 11.3: sized to each goalie from shoulder, torso and arm measurements. Elbow floaters no more than 6 in across the front, 7 in deep and 6.5 in in total length. Clavicle floaters no more than 1 in thick and 5.5 in wide, rising no more than 2 in above the shoulder at the outer edge, 1.5 in at the midpoint and 0.5 in at the inner edge. Shoulder caps may extend no more than 1.5 in beyond the shoulder, and the unit may not ride above these limits in the butterfly.
• Hockey Canada 2026-28, Rule 3.5(d): no raised ridges; elbow layering no more than 17.78 cm (7 in); shoulder cap padding no more than 2.54 cm (1 in) thick beyond the top of the shoulder; clavicle protectors no more than 17.78 cm (7 in) wide and 2.54 cm (1 in) thick, with no insert to raise them. Illegal if the shoulder protection is pushed above the shoulder in the normal crouch.

Pants and knee protection

• IIHF 2026/27, Rules 11.4 and 11.5: pants sized to the goalie with no padding beyond protection; loose shells that close the gap between the legs are illegal; inner-thigh protectors must follow the leg. Knee pads must be strapped under the pants' thigh pad tightly enough not to block the five-hole, and medial rolls are banned.
• NHL 2026-27, Rules 11.4 and 11.5: a pant size assigned by waist band, a waist no more than 6 in high, a leg opening no more than 32 in, and a thigh guard no more than 9 in wide, hip and groin pads included. Knee protection must fit under the thigh pad, within a contoured 9 in.

Masks

• IIHF 2026/27, Rule 11.8: a mask of an IIHF-approved design must be worn at all times in game action, with openings a puck cannot pass through. A mask worn mainly to enlarge the stopping area is illegal. Women's U18 goalies' masks must also stop a stick blade passing through (Rule 102.2).
• NHL 2026-27, Rule 11.8: a League-approved mask; one worn only to increase stopping area is illegal.
• Hockey Canada 2026-28, Rule 3.6(e): goaltenders in all divisions wear a CSA-certified helmet with a CSA-certified facial protector attached and unaltered. The goalie head and face protector type is D1 or 3, with a blue CSA sticker.
• NFHS, Rule 3-3-1 (2024-25): a HECC/ASTM full face mask with a helmet and chin strap.
• Cat-eye masks: CARHA Hockey, the Canadian adult recreational body, allows a CSA-approved version of the cat-eye goalie mask, which has an extra bar across the top of the eye opening, and treats a non-CSA cat-eye mask as illegal under its Rule 24(c).

Losing the mask stops play. The NHL's 2026-27 Rule 9.6 stops play at once when the goalie's team has the puck, and otherwise when there is no immediate scoring chance. Hockey Canada's Rule 3.6(d) stops play when a goaltender loses the helmet, facial protector, blocker, trapper or a skate blade, unless there is an imminent scoring chance that poses no risk to the goaltender. Under both the IIHF and NHL, a goalie who deliberately removes the mask to get a stoppage takes a delay-of-game minor, and during a breakaway, penalty shot or shootout attempt a goal is awarded instead.

Throat and neck protection

A hanging throat protector on the mask is not a neck guard. Under the IIHF's 2026/27 Rule 9.12, a goalie may attach a throat protector to the chin of the mask if its material cannot cause injury, in addition to the mandatory neck laceration protector. Hockey Canada's 2026-28 Rule 3.6(c) says a goaltender with a throat attachment must still wear a BNQ-certified throat protector in minor and female hockey. NFHS Rule 3-3-1 requires both a neck laceration protector and a separate flapper-style throat protector attached to the helmet or mask, and its December 2025 interpretations confirm a minor for a goalie wearing only one. The NHL's neck protection rule for players with no NHL games, Rule 9.8, covers goaltenders too. See neck guards.

Skates, stick and jersey

Goalie skates need a protective cowling and a flat blade no longer than the boot under the IIHF's 2026/27 Rule 9.11, and only goaltenders may use them under Hockey Canada's Rule 3.4(c); see skates. Goalie stick limits are on the sticks page. The goalie jersey may not be tied at the wrists in a way that creates a webbing effect under the armpit, and is illegal if it covers any area between the legs (IIHF Rule 9.4 and NHL Rule 9.4, 2026-27).

Inspections

The IIHF's Rule 11.9 allows inspections before, during or after games, logs them, and has the goalie and team equipment manager sign a fair play agreement. Under the NHL's Rule 11.9, League staff may take any goalie's equipment for measuring at any time (Scouting the Refs, reading the rule in 2021, adds that on-ice officials do not measure it), and a goalie found with illegal equipment is automatically suspended for two games, with repeat violations doubled. Hockey Canada allows a captain to request measurement of pads or gloves at a stoppage, done by the referee at the referee's crease. Hockey Manitoba's rule-of-the-week series lists a new Goaltender Safety rule for 2026-2028; we did not read its content.

Fitting

The Pashby fitting guide (Hockey Development Centre for Ontario with the Dr. Tom Pashby Sports Safety Fund) says pads should be fitted with goalie skates on, the kneecap in the middle of the knee roll, running from the toe of the skate to about four inches above the knee. Pants should be loose enough for the belly pad. Upper-body protection should cover the collarbone, chest and abdomen and run down the arms to the wrist. Blocker and trapper should be sized to the hand and overlap the arm pads, and the stick blade should sit flat on the ice in the goalie's crouch. It also says to dry goal pads and store them upright, and never warp a blocker.

Equipment rules for goalies are revised often. Check your association's current rulebook, and in the NHL the league's own measurements, before buying.