Watching the CBC coverage of the playoffs, and noticed the difference in a sequence where they cut together clips from the 50s and 60s with tape of more recent games. This is the kind of thing I'm talking about:
So, when did the switch come? Additionally, a smooth curve seems both more logical, more common in other sports, and easier to manufacture, so why have the B-shape in the first place? And then why move away from it?
Thanks!
This style of net was created by Art Ross and was introduced for the 1927-28 season. The idea was a puck would stay in the net and be easier for the goal judge to see. Prior to the Ross design, nets looked like this and would have problems like the puck popping out or the net falling over.
They finally got rid of them (a few years) after an injury to Mark Howe:
On December 27, 1980, he was seriously injured by one of the older style nets. During the game, Howe lost his balance when chasing a loose puck in his own zone and went feet first into the goal. His skates raised the goal posts off the ice, causing the elevated point at the center back to pierce him in the buttock, just missing the spinal column. This accident forced the NHL to install safer nets without sharp points and with magnetic fasteners that would allow the goal to become dislodged more easily.
I have no clue if they were b-shaped for manufacturing purposes, but the idea was to keep the puck from popping out of the net.
edit: forgot to add the b-style nets were incredibly heavy and designed not to budge much. NHL nets are a bit ahead of those found at local rinks. Besides the camera and shallower depth they have different pegs - Marsh pegs. Here are common ones and international ones.
Strange enough I do remember shooting on a pre-1928 style net and it sucked. Don't remember ever seeing a b-shaped net in person though.
/u/imicit pretty much covered everything regarding your question, but you can find some more information from this excerpt of James Duplacey's book "The Official Rules of Hockey: An Anecdotal Look at the Rules of Hockey-and How They Came to Be". In his book he mentions that the NHL replaced the Art Ross net with the Megg-Net, which was held in place with magnets. This was adopted for the 1984-85 season and these Megg-Nets were the standard until the 1993-94 season when they were replaced with the Marsh Peg nets we have now.
Also, if you're interested in the origin of the hockey net itself, check out this piece from the Society for International Hockey Research.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0egtlGn2yyGNURDaFF3UWFTSXM/edit
