[News] Luszczyszyn: NHL playoff officiating is an embarrassment..

[calumniate]

On the McDavid front have to remember what Mario Lemieux dealt with back in the day. And he still won cups

[powderjunkie]

Originally Posted by DeluxeMoustache

I don’t understand the point of that graphic. Different high scoring players draw different levels of penalties? All good players and penalties drawn are all over the map

Winnipeg contained McD by having good structure, taking away time and space and he ended up kept to the outside a lot. He didn’t play particularly well. Tried to do things individually but Wpg’s structure was good.

1. Most star players don't get calls all the time
2. mavI gets more calls than most

[Azhouse]

"McDavid has drawn zero penalties in his last 8 playoff games"

I think this is all that needs to be said...

[GioforPM]

The per 60 stat mucks it up. Stars have a ton more ice time, and a lot of it is floaty. It’s also against better defenders, who take fewer penalties.

[djsFlames]

Agree with this guy that the officiating is broken, when you see 3 calls one way then 3 calls the other to even it up, regardless of whether the other team has committed infractions.

Half a game of letting things go, then suddenly every borderline grab is called.

Inconsistent and going by an agenda that appears to ignore what's actually going on on the ice, but usually determined by the scoreboard. That, I do not like.

That said, McDavid didn't earn much in the way of calls in that sweep. WPG played him very intelligently. But just cause guys got in his space doesn't mean there were a bunch of penalties there. Maybe one or two, but only if it were being called like the regular season. And playoffs aren't, so cry us a river.

You're never entitled to a quota of penalties per game just because of who you are. If that were the case, it would make the officiating even more bush league. Its up to McDavid to learn how to play at even strength in playoff intensity and physicality. You see literally no other star player making a fuss about this.

[corporatejay]

I'd love to see this for Mackinnon. He just seems unstoppable. Can get to the net, can fight through garbage. If the game rewards players like him over Gaudreau for example, that's fine with me.

[blender]

I'm laughing at this thread.

Read the article yesterday and my first thought was when this makes its way to CP a bunch of people will be triggered by the McDavid reference and instantly dismiss the whole thing as whining. Exactly what happened here, of course. The lack of objectivity about anything related to McDavid here is embarrassing.

Regardless of any specific incident or player, we all know there is a problem with the officiating in the NHL and on that count Dom has it right on. It is a joke, and the league looks bad for it. It doesn't have anything to do with McDavid, and Dom may have alienated Calgary fans by using him as a case in point, but it doesn't devalue his argument.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

The chip and chase with the defender stopping the chaser is a hugely inconsistent call. The refs must have some sort of internal standard we don’t know about. Three steps or something.

I have noticed in this playoffs that the chaser is interfered with nearly universally and it appears as long as the defender doesn't make a egregious hand grab that it's totally fine for the defender to use his body to impede the chaser from being able to get to the puck. Heck I have seen several blatant take downs not called around the boards. I feel we are almost back to pre-2004 lockout hockey with the amount of obstruction going on.

[GranteedEV]

Powerplays are generally the least fun aspect of the sport, whether it's the fact that they start with o zone draws or the fact that it's usually a bunch of stationary players passing the puck around the perimeter (and I'm talking about GOOD powerplays!).

I agree that penalties should be called, but turn, there needs to be a solution more imaginative than to simply "call them". The reason for this is because the nature of most penalties is poorly weighted relative to the penalty box time spent.

My proposal would be 30 second powerplays for (most) minor infractions. Hook/hold someone? 30 seconds. Delay of game? 15 second PP. Slashing? 45 seconds. Roughing? 1 minute. Crosscheck? 2 minutes. Boarding? 3 minutes.

Further, make it so you don't need a stoppage every time a sub 1-minute minor is called. If the ref raises his arm you have to go straight to the box. Every second you stay on during the ensuing sequence is a too many men equal to the time refusing to enter the box.

Properly weighted penalties would make officials more likely to call them without feeling as if they're swinging the whole game.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Locke

I was just thinking of that.

The attacker chips it in, the defender holds him up...I can see 2-3 calls right there but....nothing ever happens.

When the rules changed after the lockout there was no tolerance, a defender couldn't interfere at all. But then they were getting slammed onto the end boards by the forechecker. And this was before icing changed. So they had to allow 'a little' interference.

But it's creeping back to more and more interference, especially when the players know how the game is managed. (Ie. It's less likely they'll call a penalty on us now)

[djsFlames]

When it comes to playoffs, I honestly don't mind the refs pocketing their whistles for the whole thing save pucks straight out or intent to injure type penalties. At least that makes things even, and even more of a battle.

Calling next to nothing is better than game management and unpredictable standards on calls going into each period. That's when they start to interfere with outcomes of games.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

When it comes to playoffs, I honestly don't mind the refs pocketing their whistles for the whole thing save pucks straight out or intent to injure type penalties. At least that makes things even, and even more of a battle.

Calling next to nothing is better than game management and unpredictable standards on calls going into each period. That's when they start to interfere with outcomes of games.

I agree. Let 'em play.

[Wastedyouth]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Powerplays are generally the least fun aspect of the sport, whether it's the fact that they start with o zone draws or the fact that it's usually a bunch of stationary players passing the puck around the perimeter (and I'm talking about GOOD powerplays!).

I agree that penalties should be called, but turn, there needs to be a solution more imaginative than to simply "call them". The reason for this is because the nature of most penalties is poorly weighted relative to the penalty box time spent.

My proposal would be 30 second powerplays for (most) minor infractions. Hook/hold someone? 30 seconds. Delay of game? 15 second PP. Slashing? 45 seconds. Roughing? 1 minute. Crosscheck? 2 minutes. Boarding? 3 minutes.

Further, make it so you don't need a stoppage every time a sub 1-minute minor is called. If the ref raises his arm you have to go straight to the box. Every second you stay on during the ensuing sequence is a too many men equal to the time refusing to enter the box.

Properly weighted penalties would make officials more likely to call them without feeling as if they're swinging the whole game.

This would make the game more confusing, less fun to watch and very very slow.

No thanks.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

Properly weighted penalties would make officials more likely to call them without feeling as if they're swinging the whole game.

This is the issue, referees aren't supposed to feel anything.

[Scroopy Noopers]

Originally Posted by Locke

I agree. Let 'em play.

If calls were consistent, they’d know HOW to play without getting a penalty.

[BACKCHECK!!!]

Ok, so in 2003, Colin Powell was like "I'm going to the UN General Assembly, and I'm going to prove to everyone that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction."

And I'm thinking, yeah, they probably do. Whether that justifies an invasion or not is a different question, but I think most people agreed that they probably still have chemical weapons somewhere.

But then he sits down and shows a *drawing* of a train, that might have a chemical lab on board. Photos of empty parking lots, stuff like that.

The "proof" was so flimsy and vacuous that it actually changed my mind AGAINST what they were trying to prove.

Fast forward 18 years to see someone post a video of missed penalty calls against McDavid, and damned if it's not the exact same vibe.

THAT'S your proof? Because you're really doing a good job of unconvincing me. NHL reffing isn't great, so I was willing to accept that he's maybe not getting as many calls as he should, but now your proof has got me second guess that.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

This is the issue, referees aren't supposed to feel anything.

There will always be an element of human bias as long as you have human referees. Officials have never operated on a binary (is/isn't this a penalty) but rather "is this eggregious enough to be 2 minutes".

If you adjust the rules such that the fluidity is removed, you're making the officials' job easier.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by Locke

Sorry, I have to disagree.

Have you read that rulebook? If they called it like its written you'd either have teams constantly trading powerplays or...you just couldnt play hockey at all.

I bitch about Refs as much as anyone, and I hate the 'Game Management' nonsense, but I do understand that there has to be discretion in Reffing and Policing.

If you called everything by the letter of the law it would be the most boring game in the world.

It needs to be a two-pronged approach. Call the rules as written and if there's a rule that shouldn't be called, it should be removed from the rule book.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by GranteedEV

There will always be an element of human bias as long as you have human referees. Officials have never operated on a binary (is/isn't this a penalty) but rather "is this eggregious enough to be 2 minutes".

If you adjust the rules such that the fluidity is removed, you're making the officials' job easier.

I disagree. Eggregious and worth have crept into NHL officiating and it's wrong. Let's take NFL for example, they will call Defense PI on the final play of a tied game if it's a foul. Then a chip shot field goal wins it. Why? Because the wide receiver earned that foul, he was in the right position to receive that foul. By not calling the foul, you've penalized the offense and now the game goes to overtime (where more non-calls will happen). Everyone knows the non-PI call cost the Saints a trip to the Super Bowl right? (sorry Sainters). And the NFL was up in arms about that, the NHL it's just usual business.

The NHL ref will be too afraid to make that call unless it's 100% clear and even then...

A foul is a foul. There should never be a question of, 'was it enough of a foul to warrant xyz."

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by GirlySports

I disagree. Eggregious and worth have crept into NHL officiating and it's wrong. Let's take NFL for example, they will call Defense PI on the final play of a tied game if it's a foul. Then a chip shot field goal wins it. Why? Because the wide receiver earned that foul, he was in the right position to receive that foul. By not calling the foul, you've penalized the offense and now the game goes to overtime (where more non-calls will happen). Everyone knows the non-PI call cost the Saints a trip to the Super Bowl right? (sorry Sainters). And the NFL was up in arms about that, the NHL it's just usual business.

The NHL ref will be too afraid to make that call unless it's 100% clear and even then...

A foul is a foul. There should never be a question of, 'was it enough of a foul to warrant xyz."

But is it?

Football is a great example.

They call PI sometimes on identical plays that they also dont call it on. And the reason is, these guys are not robots all identically programmed. It is all subjective to a certain degree.

And thats why over the glass is at least a penalty that cannot be argued. If it goes over the glass straight off a stick, its a penalty.

To me we are trying to fix an unfixable problem unless human beings are removed from the equation completely.