What does the NHL have to do to fix officiating?

[zarrell]

The NHL needs a TMO like rugby has. Basically a 4th official that watches the game from the booth and has radio communication with the main referee. He can buzz the ref if something has been missed or make suggestions to change bad calls. It's the best officiating system in all the sports I know of.

[GranteedEV]

Originally Posted by Flames0910

Hate to be that guy, but year-on-year it keeps getting worse.

Whether you agree it was a problem tonight or not, I think we all agree it’s a problem league-wide. So how does the NHL fix this? (because honestly this issue punishes the league’s most dedicated fans)

Force refs to video review every call or non call and upturn it. Only answer I can think of. I hate whining about officiating but they have impacted the game to the extent where they're in the players' heads. Just look at the AC gifs above, how do you establish yourself in either zone when things are called so lopsidedly?

[Flamesguy_SJ]

Here's a crazy idea: why doesn't someone write down all of the rules and possible infractions in a book, and then have the referees penalize players when the rules are broken or an infraction is incurred.

This should honestly be pretty simple. Just call a penalty when a penalty happens!

[Monahammer]

I have been saying for approx 3 years now that the refs in our league are absolute garbage and their terrible profession should be excised from the league.

Replace the puck drop with some sort of drone, put two goons/ fight separaters in the box, to be released upon a whistle, and have a committee of 3 (one rep from each team and a neutral "lead" ref) call the game from a box with the advantage of every camera angle possible, using a horn to stop play when necessary. Maybe some sort of light change to notify players of delayed calls. Remove then from the flow of the game though. They get in the way far too often and being down there gives them the impression they're actually a part of the game.

[Monahammer]

In the mean time there should be a review board that goes over every game and fines refs when they are clearly inadequate. There are no checks or balances on those #### heads and they think they control the flow of the game.

[Phaneuf_Phan]

Flames powerplay is horrible so Avs can do whatever they want to us.

[Tyler]

Do people not realize that that was the linesman and not the ref on the Vali high stick?

[PeteMoss]

Can't forget the Avs guy tripping and blasting full tilt into Smith (and nearly hurting him) and getting no call last night.

[Split98]

There needs to be a post-game review if there isn't already. They make a lot of mistakes that seem very easy to prevent if we're worried about doing a good job

But I wonder how many calls don't go our way due to the non-stop whining when 13 is out there. Things get missed on him, but it's part of his routine to give the ref an earful every time he skates up ice. He needs to learn how to play the game

[Infinit47]

It's human nature to see the infractions missed against your team, but last night really was a glaring example of how officiating has become part of what determines the outcome of a game. There is no way the ref missed that hook on Gaudreau. He made a conscious decision not to call that. Much like a decision was made to call the Backlund trip. The Gaudreau infraction removed an A+ scoring chance and the Backlund trip broke up the cycle. What is the standard here?

[The Cobra]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Can't forget the Avs guy tripping and blasting full tilt into Smith (and nearly hurting him) and getting no call last night.

I don't believe that's a penalty when it's accidental.

[Resolute 14]

Officiating has been a debacle all year long. Nobody should be surprised that it remains inconsistent and capricious in the playoffs.

And Split98 - every single team has guys whining non-stop to the officials. Gaudreau is not why the officials seem to have a hard on for the Avs.

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by PeteMoss

Can't forget the Avs guy tripping and blasting full tilt into Smith (and nearly hurting him) and getting no call last night.

There was a lot of crap last night, but that most certainly was not a penalty. It would have nullified any goal, but that's it.

[Erick Estrada]

Officiating hasn't been good but they have given the Flames powerplays in both overtimes. Flames simply haven't taken advantage of their opportunities to close out games or have that clutch moment in overtime.

[Infinit47]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

Officiating hasn't been good but they have given the Flames powerplays in both overtimes. Flames simply haven't taken advantage of their opportunities to close out games or have that clutch moment in overtime.

That's completely fair. But when 5v5 play includes the rule that MacKinnon cannot be touched and Gaudreau is fair game it impacts everything.

[Gazza]

I get the frustration, especially seeing the videos.

Of the two officials yesterday, one had officiated in 12 previous playoff games, not a lot of experience. However, the Flames had a record of 7-0 when he officiated their games this season. I wonder who was the one making the calls/non-calls. Seeing Brodie's penalty for example, it was clearly the ref at centre making that call. And on Gaudreau's non-call, which official was closer? My point is, I wonder if the more experienced official was letting it go while the less experienced was not.

Also, all the posts about Gaudreau complaining about non-calls on the ice, MacKinnon does the same throw-the-hands-up when he feels there should be a call. The difference being, he gets the calls.

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[kermitology]

It’s just interference all over the ice, at both ends. It’s hurting the flames because they’re a team that relies on quick plays and using their speed to generate space, when the “playoff hockey” rules are in effect, teams will interfere and obstruct you into oblivion. There’s no chance for the Flames the play their style of game within these rules that are actually being enforced.

It’s not about power plays, it’s about the Avs not fearing they’ll get a penalty for doing whatever they want.

[Infinit47]

Originally Posted by Gazza

I get the frustration, especially seeing the videos.

Of the two officials yesterday, one had officiated in 12 previous playoff games, not a lot of experience. However, the Flames had a record of 7-0 when he officiated their games this season. I wonder who was the one making the calls/non-calls. Seeing Brodie's penalty for example, it was clearly the ref at centre making that call. And on Gaudreau's non-call, which official was closer? My point is, I wonder if the more experienced official was letting it go while the less experienced was not.

Also, all the posts about Gaudreau complaining about non-calls on the ice, MacKinnon does the same throw-the-hands-up when he feels there should be a call. The difference being, he gets the calls.

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The entire don't "whine" thing comes from the exact same place as he "keep your head up" bs. Some sense of old school machismo in the game means you have to "battle through" and keep your mouth shut. Be a real man etc.

All Gaudreau wants is for the refs to do their job so he can do his.

That ignored hooking call should get this crew removed from the playoffs.

[Jaybo]

People can argue back and forth about how much the refs impact on games but it's pretty undeniable that they do.

Sure, it's a fast game with lots happening in split seconds but it's clear that games are called differently whether it's regular season or post-season, what the score is, who the players involved are, at what point in the game it is, if one team has gotten more power plays and things need to be "evened out", who the home team is, who the ref is, which series it is, what player's "reputations" are, if teams are based in Canada or the US and on and on and on.

I can't even imagine watching a game where refs called it without any of these factors coming into consideration and simply did their best to call the most obvious penalties, as defined in the rule book, no matter who, what, where, when or why they happen.

[Jaybo]

One other comment...

I always chuckle when I read comments like "The reffing sucks - I'm not supporting the NHL anymore!" as I suspect 99.9% of people who say this are back in front of their TV or in their seats at the Saddledome come October.

I'm a more fair weather fan than most of you and the reffing isn't the whole reason. But after this debacle of a post-season, coming right after one of the most amazing, memorable seasons in Flames' history, I'm feeling like I need to be less invested in hockey next year in a way I don't think I ever have before. :-(