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Quick Thought on Officiating

Larry N

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I've seen seven playoff games thus far, and I'm not happy with the level of officiating I've seen. Do I think the officials are favoring certain teams over others? I know this will be a shock from a Flyers fan, but no. In the games I've seen, I think they've been equitable in their questionable calls (and non-calls).

It just seems that over-officiating and inconsistency are occuring way too much. You may agree or disagree. But if you agree, here's something to consider:

The playoffs are when the weak officials are supposed to have been weeded out. So, if we're getting this sort of officiating for the playoffs, what does that say about the zebras as a whole (if anything)? Given that I haven't seen an improvement in the officiating from the regular season, what does it take to not qualify for a playoff assignment?
 

dash

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I try to not get too caught up with officiating (easier to do this year with the Flames not in the playoffs) but the biggest thing for me is consistency or the lack thereof. Another thing that the NFL does well is when they acknowledge officiating mistakes in their games. The NHL stands behind the officials regardless of blatant errors that determine the outcomes of games. Then the league sounds surprised when all the conspiracy theories about "favourite teams" refuse to go away.
 

loki604

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I sort of agree, but at the same time, this seems to come up every year. The biggest thing for me is that I hope calls/non-calls don't make or break the game. For example (I believe this was the game), when the Caps mauled that one Canadien in OT (and didn't get called), they came back on the rush. If they had scored there, that would have really sucked.

I try not to think about this too much and roll with the punches. I think it really affects some people's enjoyment of the game (not saying you), and I don't want that to happen. Are we entitled to consistency? Of course. Are we ever going to get the officiating we want? Maybe not.
 

Larry N

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Agreed, Dash, the NHL needs to do a better job of coming forward when they make a mistake. But I think that traces back to Bettman's mentality of 'keeping it in the family'. At least if they admit the mistakes, you know they've acknowledged them and are (hopefully) doing something to address it. As it stands now, you get questions like my last one. How bad does an official have to be to not get a playoff assignment, when the ones that do seem mediocre at thier jobs at best?

Loki- It does affect my enjoyment to a certain degree. I still love the game, and I'll still watch. But take a game like Philly/NJ last night. 16 power plays? Really? How can players or fans be expected to get into a game like that where no flow can be established? It's one thing if all of the calls are legit and both teams are just playing like beer leaguers. But that wasn't the case.

I'd say I've noticed the trend of questionable officiating since after Hull's cup winning goal. It seems like prior to that, the refs were more willing to let the players play and call only those things that had to be called.
 

UTVolCountry

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You should've see the Preds game last night. It seem liked every second someone was headed to the box.
 

quoipourquoi

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The way I see it, some refs are calling it tighter than others, and it's the coaches' jobs to adapt their team to it. Yeah, there are going to be blown calls, but that just happens. As long as the iffy calls in the referees' views are consistent from team-to-team (and I think they have been), I don't mind how they call the games.
 

dash

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You should've see the Preds game last night. It seem liked every second someone was headed to the box.

That was O'Halloran putting on his usual show last night in Nashville. He has Kerry Fraser-itis (needs to make sure everyone knows he's in the building).
 

elocomotive

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It seems like prior to that, the refs were more willing to let the players play and call only those things that had to be called.

Frankly, I don't understand statements like this. A penalty is a penalty in my book and should always be called. I understand when people get frustrated by ticky-tack calls, but players shouldn't put themselves in position for those.

I've ben a ref before. It's a REALLY hard job. And I can't say I've ever watched a game and thought 'well, they got ALL the calls right.' And as a ref, I've blown the whistle and made a call, replayed it in my mind, and then thought, "oh crap, I think I had that one wrong." Too late! But I've also screamed at the TV thinking there was a foul when the replay showed it really wasn't and vice versa. I think you have to understand that bad calls are always going to be part of the game. The obvious ones are tough to take and you hope they don't rear their head against your team.

The part that gets me is the league front office and it's three-fold...
(1) Reviews - When you look at a play over and over in the era of high def., how do you get it wrong? The Canucks disallowed goal is a good example of that, especially when they come out and say it didn't fit the letter of their own rules to do anything to disallow it.
(2) The way the league structures it's rules - As a league, you have to do everything you can to minimize SUBJECTIVITY in calls. I think the current set of NHL rules do a LOUSY job of that and set up their own refs to fail. For example, the new head shot rule has a bunch of pre-conditions to it. Get rid of them! You hit a guy in the head, bam, penalty. So much easier for the refs to do their job. They don't have to examine the intent of the guy or which direction somebody was coming from, they only have to look for contact. This is the most important of them all and the NHL might be the worst of any major league in this regard.
(3) Admission - Admit when your refs made a mistake. People will forgive you, they just get annoyed when the man behind the curtain is not held accountable.
 

Larry N

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Let me clarify, elocomotive.

I agree right up front that a penalty is a penalty is a penalty and should be called regardless.

But there was a time when officials let the teams play more. And that was fine because they were consistent. Players had a good feel for how things would go, and they adjusted accordingly. And that's all I'm asking for as a fan.

I understand that a ref's job is difficult. I think most fans do. But when you have two officials on the ice and a borderline hook is called one minute but a blatant boarding isn't the next, that's when people get frustrated. If there's no consistency from the officals from shift to shift (never mind period to period) it makes it difficult to be charitable towards them when they do blow a call.
 

Urkie

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They are just too god damned inconsistent.

They'll call one thing, then going the other way they'll let the same thing go.

Repeat and do that all over again.

I understand it's a fast game and all but there are 2 officials for a reason...
 

KindaChang

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I really need to echo the subjectivity of the rules elocomotive brought up. The NHL is horrible about adding all kinds of lawyer-speak to their rules.

I've been a ref for youth leagues of baseball, soccer, and basketball, all of which base their rules on either the college or professional level (soccer used FIFA's Laws of the Game). While sometimes the rules get a little silly in their directness ("MLB Rule 5.03 The pitcher shall deliver the pitch to the batter who may elect to strike the ball, or
who may not offer at it, as he chooses.") it's better than the NHL Rule book from my own reading ("NHL Rule 76.1 Face-off – The action of the Referee or Linesman in dropping the puck between the sticks of two opposing players to start or resume play. A face-off begins when the official indicates the location of the face-off and the officials and players take their appropriate positions. The face-off ends when the puck has been legally dropped.

A goalkeeper may not participate in a face-off.")
 

SFNL

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Well.... 2 5 on 3 goals against the Pens last night when they scored 7 goals... just sayin
 
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I'll echo both the consistency and the subjectivity arguments, but there are also some really stupid rules. For example, why doesn't clearing the puck over the glass have the same consequence as icing the puck? It accomplishes the same purpose for the defensive team, so why not incorporate the same consequence?

I think, though, that changing the language of the rules to make them more objective, we would see a huge increase in consistency on calls. As far as ticky-tack calls, I would probably prefer those be let go unless they directly impact a play. For example, a little hold or hook on the boards that doesn't result in anything doesn't need to be called, but a small hook or hold that results in a rush the other way perhaps should.
 
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