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Old 03-04-2019, 01:05 PM   #1
TheSquatch
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Default How does the NHL fix officiating?

Pun intended, I guess.... I don't think the NHL tries to "fix" games, really, it's too difficult to get away with in this day and age. But let's face it, a bunch of the officials in the NHL are neither especially good nor especially consistent.

There's a post in the current GDT about Hathaway getting 5 and a game for "intent to injure" and the league not looking further at it because there was no intent to injure.

So... okay?

Ovi's non-goal in the Caps' shootout against NYR is called just that on the ice, and AFTER a huddle up by the on ice officials. Ovi knows it's an awarded goal because he knows the rules, he's mystified at how the ruling on the ice could even be discussed. And he's dead right - the league has to phone up the ref (Pierre Lambert) and say "Hey, that's an automatic goal under the rules." He skates to center ice and announces that it's a goal after all. This guy literally didn't know the rule, nor did the others on the ice, obviously. Goalie threw his stick, it wasn't an accident or even a close call. No contact was made. They blew it.

So here's just two calls, one of them game-deciding (and I'm not arguing that the Hathaway call was blown - it happened fast, looked bad, and it's a bad hit.... at the same time, was Chara even given an interference penalty for nearly breaking Pacioretti's head on the stanchion?). But we've seen important calls, and we've seen ridiculous calls - tripping penalties in the last minutes of games where NOTHING has been called.... weird stuff missed, weird stuff called. I thought when Backlund got blown up by Dumba, it was clearly head-first contact, and a totally unecessary hit at the end of a game, for example... no call. There's a million borderline examples, and a million clear-cut examples where you can watch a ref watch a clear infraction and just... do nothing.

I'm not suggesting they are out for the Flames either - I see bad calls, weird calls, non calls every night that are just frustrating as hell for the teams and worse, for the fans.

So I see it as a pretty big problem for the NHL. The players don't know what is or isn't a penalty on any given night, and inside that night, things change seemingly at random as well.

More training? More replays, or more challenges? More on-ice officials? Should linesmen be calling penalties as well? Or is this just something that has to be lived with in a league this large and a game this fast?
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:08 PM   #2
Jiri Hrdina
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I think the problem is largely over-stated. I think officiating in other sports is worse: NFL, NBA and MLB all have bigger problems in my opinion.
The speed of the game and advancements in replays make it easy to identify inconsistencies after the fact.
There is room for improvement to be sure, but overall I think the NHL is the best of the big 4.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:10 PM   #3
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Hathaway’s shouldn’t have even been a penalty.

Apparently the refs are mind readers able to tell Garnett’s sinister intent as opposed to just getting out of the way of a routine hit.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:10 PM   #4
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IMO, officiating is fine and is in every sport. Mistakes happen, the game is extremely fast and impossible to make perfect. Are there little things to improve? Sure but I dont think it is a major problem. The only reason people think it worse than ever is we have more access and looks in slow motion than we ever have.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:13 PM   #5
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They need to insulate ref's from players, coaches and management influencing their decision making by a non-stop confrontation about any and every call they make.

Makes me pine for Rugby officiating.

The NHL's officiating problem has it's roots in hockey culture that sees the ref as a component of the gamesmanship taking place during the game, rather than an impartial arbiter enforcing the rules.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:16 PM   #6
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NHL officiating is pretty bad.

I do think part of it is because the rules are kind of a mess.

But ultimately, you just need to train them harder, and isolate them from undue outside pressure. Possibly increasing their pay might get more qualified people intrested.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:19 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken View Post

Makes me pine for Rugby officiating.

.

Haha, yes, the occassional dummy who yaps at a Rugby ref winds up costing the team yards, or even points. They are the law, period. Something to be said for that.


And I agree - hockey culture is a little twisted about the role of the on ice officials.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:21 PM   #8
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Robots.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:24 PM   #9
Jiri Hrdina
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Quote:
Originally Posted by neo45 View Post
Hathaway’s shouldn’t have even been a penalty.

Apparently the refs are mind readers able to tell Garnett’s sinister intent as opposed to just getting out of the way of a routine hit.
As part of taking any head hits seriously, we probably have to accept that intent isn't the only determinant.
I think the Hathaway hit, in real time, looked really bad.
I would rather the NHL swing more to the side of penalizing head shots severely, even if it means some of that punishment is more severe than it should have been.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:24 PM   #10
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I think they are relatively excellent when you consider the speed of the game, and how few calls they get wrong out of the hundreds of decisions they have to make in a game.

Maybe there could be more accountability - go back to putting their names on their uniforms. Mistakes should be regularly discussed in video review, and the best refs should get rewarded (salary and playoff appointments).

Maybe we would be better returning to one ref, and allowing linesman to call a limited range of penalties (ex. too many men, delay of game, high-sticking).

"Game Management" should not be a thing. A penalty should be a penalty no matter the circumstances in the game.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:25 PM   #11
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Education.

NHL officials were unaware of NHL rules in the NYR-Caps game on Sunday.

That can't happen.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:25 PM   #12
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Fans complain about officiating in every major sport. It's almost like refs are human and are capable of making mistakes.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:44 PM   #13
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:45 PM   #14
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Originally Posted by Toonage View Post
Education.

NHL officials were unaware of NHL rules in the NYR-Caps game on Sunday.

That can't happen.
Do we know for certain that they were not aware of the rule? I had assumed they had made the call based on not being able to determine if the stick was thrown intentionally. It happened at speed and was not clear to me until watching the replay several time and discussing the call as a group would not change that either regardless of whether they knew the rule. In this case video review was about the only way the call was going to be made. The only thing in questions to me is why they did not ask for a review right away, or perhaps why were they unaware a review was going to occur?
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:46 PM   #15
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Do we know for certain that they were not aware of the rule? I had assumed they had made the call based on not being able to determine if the stick was thrown intentionally. It happened at speed and was not clear to me until watching the replay several time and discussing the call as a group would not change that either regardless of whether they knew the rule. In this case video review was about the only way the call was going to be made. The only thing in questions to me is why they did not ask for a review right away, or perhaps why were they unaware a review was going to occur?
They called no goal and the siren went off immediately after which was Toronto calling them to let them know what was missed.

This, amidst everyone on the ice and on TV calling the game expressing that this was a goal.

Prior to that the officials even got together to discuss this as a group before registering the incorrect call.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:49 PM   #16
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Just have refs make calls that favour my team and punishes the opponent.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:51 PM   #17
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I think it's alright for about 90% of the time. Although when a ref is looking directly at an infraction and DECIDES not to call it is my biggest complaint. They just need to be held accountable in some form for doing so. It's also like its 200% harder to have a penalty called for the team on the power play, which I also hate.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:51 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Flash Walken View Post

Makes me pine for Rugby officiating.
Elaborate

Quote:
Originally Posted by TheSquatch View Post
Haha, yes, the occassional dummy who yaps at a Rugby ref winds up costing the team yards, or even points. They are the law, period. Something to be said for that.


And I agree - hockey culture is a little twisted about the role of the on ice officials.

There should always be the ability to converse with officials in a calm and respectful manner.


What is wrong with NHL officiating, to me it seems like they are more into game management rather than enforcing the rules of the game.

What is a penalty in one game isn't in another (even with the same officials on the ice).

It is consistently inconsistent.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:53 PM   #19
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I don't mind the missed or wrong calls, it's the severe gamesmanship that pisses me off. Team is down? Obstruct away! Free slashes and holds for all. Other team took 4 obvious penalties? Better not touch the opposing team because those make up calls are coming. End of a tight game? No holds barred, the ref isn't chancing wrecking a late game tie.

Obviously generalizations but it's so obvious the refs are there more to keep parity than to officiate.
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Old 03-04-2019, 01:58 PM   #20
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Quote:
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Elaborate
I believe the conduct of NHL players towards officials is very inappropriate.

I believe the harshness of repercussions in Rugby is a standard the NHL/Hockey should hold itself to:

Quote:
A Feilding rugby player who unleashed a "torrent of obscenities" before spitting into a referee's face has copped a decade-long ban from the game.

Feilding Rugby Club player Tipene Campbell has been suspended for 10 years for referee abuse and misconduct in the match against Ashhurst-Pohangina on July 18.

He swore and spat at the match referee.

It follows a litany of misdemeanours from the team's June 27 match in which one player's name was falsified on the team card and saw him incorrectly suspended for verbal referee abuse.

Another player, Wiremu Hape, was subsequently suspended until March 2018 for that offence and the coach, Rangi Ranginui, also known as Rangi Ruatita was suspended for 35 weeks for referee abuse.

A major investigation by the Feilding club committee is under way to ascertain who put the false name on the team card on June 27.

Meanwhile, Campbell will be out of the game until July 21, 2025.

Manawatu community rugby manager Martin Brady said: "The reality is if you want to abuse a match official in Manawatu, you are going to be dealt to severely."
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