NHL Ice Hockey Sticks | Hockey Stick Expert

NHL Hockey Stick Budget

Some nice Ice Hockey Stick $$$ info from a recent article…

Reaching a breaking point on stick budgets?

The odds that the hockey world would ever go back to wood sticks are probably on a par with goalies everywhere going back to pads stuffed with horsehair.

But it sure gets frustrating, night after night, to see NHL ice surfaces littered with shattered pricy carbon shafts, which seem to have a way of vaporizing just as a point man puts the hammer down on a 40-foot slapper. Imagine the pain felt by parents who shell out $100, $200, or more for a stick, only to take home two halves to stake tomato plants in summer gardens.

“It’s a big point of contention among GMs throughout the league, I’ll tell you that,” said Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli. “The stick budget for every team keeps going up.”

According to Chiarelli, the Bruins spend some $400,000 per annum on the lightweight sticks.

“They all want them to be light, and I understand that,” said Chiarelli. “But the trick is to find a balance between what the player wants and a stick that will stay intact.”

The complete article can be found here. Boston Globe Article from February 15, 2009.