The Goalie Who Grew Five Inches

How tall are NHL goalies now?

The average NHL goalie in 2025-26 was 74.9 inches, a shade under 6-foot-3. That is weighted by minutes in net, so a starter counts more than a call-up. In 1980-81 the same number was 70.0 inches, about 5-foot-10. Skaters grew too, but only from 71.9 to 73.4 inches.

The low point was 67.3 inches in 1922-23 and 1923-24, when four to six goalies played every minute in net. From there the line drifts up to about 5-foot-11 by the 1950s and then stalls for 30 years. The climb that matters starts in the late 1980s and runs almost without a break until about 2015-16, when it flattens near 6-foot-3.

When goalies became the tallest players on the ice

For most of NHL history the goalie was the small man. In 1983-84 he was 2.0 inches shorter than the average skater. The gap closed through the 1990s, reached zero in 2007-08, and flipped. Since 2015-16 goalies have been between 1.37 and 1.55 inches taller than skaters every season.

Skaters grew mostly before 1990 and have barely moved since: 73.2 inches in 2000-01 and 73.4 in 2025-26. Goalies grew after 1990. That suggests the cause lies in the position itself, such as how goalies play, rather than in better nutrition or a bigger talent pool, though season totals cannot prove it.

The 6-foot-4 club

Before the mid-1980s almost nobody that tall played in net. (One 1954-55 Boston goalie is listed at 6-foot-5, the kind of single listing worth doubting.) In 2005-06, goalies 6-foot-4 or taller played 5.4% of NHL minutes. In 2025-26 they played 39.9%.

The rise came in two steps: from about 5% to about 12% around 2008-09, then to about 30% by 2015-16. It has crept up again since, to a new high in 2025-26.

Does height still separate goalies?

If size were the whole job, taller goalies would save more shots. We compared each goalie-season with the league save percentage that year, then pooled by height group within five eras. The chart shows saves per 1,000 shots above or below the league.

In 1980-95, when big goalies were rare, the 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-3 group beat the league by 4.8 saves per 1,000 shots, and the few 6-foot-4 goalies of 1995-2004 by 4.1. Both are thin. Mike Liut, Tom Barrasso and Patrick Roy faced more than half of the 1980-95 group’s shots, and Sean Burke half of the 1995-2004 group’s; resampling by goalie, neither edge is clearly above zero. In 1955-80 the 6-foot-0 and 6-foot-1 group was 4.1 below the league, so height did not line up with results then either. Since 2013-14 the spread is small: the tallest group is 1.6 above average, the 6-foot-2 and 6-foot-3 group 1.2 below, and the few short goalies (mostly Juuse Saros and Jaroslav Halak) 2.0 above. Every group is within 2 saves per 1,000 shots, one goal every 500 shots, of the league average.

The shortest starters, decade by decade

A starter here means a goalie who played at least half of his team’s games. In most 1980s seasons the league had a 5-foot-6 or 5-foot-7 regular, and in 1987-88 Darren Pang started at 5-foot-4. In every season since 2017-18 the shortest regular starter has been 5-foot-11, most often Juuse Saros.

What the height numbers can and cannot tell you

• Equipment is tangled up with bodies. Bigger pads and chest protectors made goalies look bigger in the 1990s and 2000s. The NHL capped pad length at 38 inches in 2003-04, cut equipment sizes for 2005-06, and set chest and arm limits for 2018-19. Height kept rising through the first two, so gear limits did not stop teams preferring tall goalies.
• Early seasons are tiny. Four to six goalies played most minutes in the 1920s, so one player moves the average.
• Coverage is nearly complete. Every goalie minute since 1917-18 has a listed height. Skater games without one are under 0.6% in every season after 1925, and 1.3% to 3.1% in 1921-25.

Show the work

Tests written down

Not in advance (exploratory)

Results computed

October 26, 2026

Every NHL regular season 1917-18 to 2025-26 (2004-05 cancelled): 4,988 goalie-seasons and 47,644 skater-seasons from the NHL stats API. Goalies are weighted by minutes in net, skaters by games. Save % groups use 1955-56 on, when shots against are published.

Frequently asked questions

More in Bodies

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All How Hockey Changed research →

Keep reading

• How Hockey Changed: NHL data stories →One chart-led story a day about how the NHL game, its players and its rules have changed.
• Who is the NHL GOAT? →Era-adjusted scoring since 1917, and why goalie talent compressed.
• How much of save % is the team? →Why a goalie’s save percentage follows the team in front of him.
• NHL goalie hub →Starters, save percentage and workload for every goalie.

Sources and method

1. NHL stats (NHL.com), every season since 1917-18
2. NHL stats API: goalie and skater bios and summaries, every season since 1917-18
3. Scouting the Refs: NHL historical rule changes
4. NHL.com: NHL and NHLPA add chest and arm pad rules for goalies (2018)

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