Paywall:
https://theathletic.com/2612733/2021...-for-too-long/
Some coles notes:
- Two main issues: Playoff loosening of calls. Game management.
- McDavid has drawn zero penalties in his last 8 playoff games
- Playoff standards are like Mario Kart items -- it punishes good players and rewards bad players
- Instead of promoting offence, the NHL does the opposite
- Not on the refs. They're doing what they are told. This is a league mandate.
I think more media need to call out how broken NHL refereeing is, otherwise nothing will change. Imagine if every hockey article started with, "NHL refereeing is trash". Maybe that could cause them to fix things internally.