HOCKEY; Netting Exposes N.H.L. to Criticism and Praise (Published 2002) (2024)

From his seats in Section 68, behind the goal line on the Eighth Avenue end of the rink at Madison Square Garden, Ernie Gellman peered through the black netting Sunday night and considered the changed perspective.

''It's terrible,'' said Gellman, who said he had been coming to Rangers games since 1941. ''You can't see the other end. With the black netting, it completely blocks out the puck and you can't tell what's happening.''

Helmer Toro, who also sits in that section, had a much different opinion.

''I think it's the best, absolutely,'' Toro said, as he and his 14-year-old son, Mitchell, watched the Rangers defeat the Philadelphia Flyers. ''I've seen someone get hit by a puck and it's not pretty. After you see something like that, you realize the netting is very good. I think it's the best thing they ever did. They should do it the whole way around the rink.''

A season-ticket holder for three years, Toro says his primary concern now is safety. The new netting, he believes, provides that.

The nets, installed to protect the fans sitting behind the goals in N.H.L. arenas, were mandated by the league in response to the death of 13-year-old Brittanie Cecil last March.

Cecil was struck in the head by a puck during a game between the Calgary Flames and the host Columbus Blue Jackets. She died two days later as a result of a ruptured artery. No lawsuit has been filed in the Cecil case.

''It's not a requirement that the netting is in place by the beginning of the season,'' said Frank Brown, the league's chief spokesman. ''It is a requirement that it be in place as soon as it is possible, preferably by the start of the season.'' The regular season begins Oct. 9.

As teams have installed the netting -- it appears that every team will use black because white netting reflects the house lighting too much -- they have found that a delicate balance exists between establishing spectator safety and preserving the fan's view.

Commissioner Gary Bettman sent an explanatory letter to the league's 30 teams, who then had the option of forwarding it to their season-ticket holders.

In the letter, Bettman said the league hoped to ''reduce the incidence of pucks entering the seating areas during warm-ups and games, without unduly interfering with your enjoyment of the event.''

Glen Sather, the Rangers' president and general manager, who has long been a proponent of protective nets, said he believed it was only a matter of time before fans accepted the new look.

''I think safety is always paramount,'' he said. ''I don't think anybody is going to notice the netting after a while.''

The league has taken the position that the netting, like seat belts in a car, may not always be popular, but will save lives and reduce injuries.

Last Saturday night in Estero, Fla., a 62-year-old woman attending an N.H.L. exhibition game was hit in the face by a puck that had deflected over the glass. She had a bloody and swollen nose.

Because the Carolina-Florida game was at a minor league rink, there was no safety netting at either end, according to The Associated Press.

''I grew up with netting,'' said Rangers center Bobby Holik, who is from the Czech Republic. ''In Europe, every rink has it.''

Some nets will extend from the top of the glass to the ceiling, as was the case at Montreal's Bell Center, where the Rangers played Saturday night.

Other nets, like the ones at Madison Square Garden, will be fastened to a bar held from motors mounted in the ceiling.

The Islanders, whose first home exhibition game is Oct. 1, will test both net configurations in the preseason before deciding which way to go.

The Devils expect to have their protective netting in place when they play at Continental Arena on Thursday night.

The Garden netting is 120 feet wide and 30 feet high. By the time the season starts, Garden workers should need about an hour to raise and remove the nets before and after games. Last Sunday, Garden workers needed nearly four hours to have them in place.

Sather, whose box sits high above the Garden ice behind one of the nets, said that he could hardly notice them.

Those who sit closer to the ice and the netting pay more for their seats than those sitting farther away, where the netting seems less noticeable.

One spectator who was sitting close to the ice on Sunday, and who declined to give his name, said he was bothered by the netting.

Holik said: ''If I was watching the game, I wouldn't mind it at all. Before the game started, I walked all the way around the Garden. I saw the ice surface from the concourse, and I don't think it makes a difference at all. I think the fans will be more comfortable. It takes away a little of the danger, especially for children.''

From a television standpoint, Joe Whalen, who produces Rangers games for the MSG Network, said: ''I thought it was pretty unobtrusive. I don't think it affected our coverage at all.''

Still, Ken Macadam, a longtime season-ticket holder, said he was against the netting, even though he frequently takes different combinations of his five children with him to games. John Eidmann, a season-ticket holder since 1970, agreed.

''It says right on the ticket and they tell you before every game, beware of the puck,'' Eidmann said, referring to warnings provided by the teams. And that, said Eidmann, was enough -- no netting required.

As they were sitting near one another behind one of the goals Sunday night, Macadam, Eidmann and Alan Resnick, another season-ticket holder, said that they wished the netting were white. They reasoned that it would be easier to follow the puck.

The Rangers and the league conducted studies on various types of netting and how it was affected by arena lighting.

''The notion that white or monofilament, like a fishing line, would be better, has not been proven true,'' Brown said.

The Rangers chose black netting with the thinnest cord. ''This one has the least amount of reflection,'' Sather said. ''We tried experiments with different colors, and this one was the best.''