Take Refs Out of Game with 5 Minutes to Go??????

[saskatchewan197]

Or , everyone can realize its been like this for 25 + years , and still we have an entertaining game. No one is perfect , no one is on the same page , it just wont happen. You cant have replays on penalties , it takes away the flow of the game and makes it unwatchable. i fnd the problem is everyone is so wrapped up in their team getting " screwed over" that they forget you are there to be entertained. I think i have now heard the excuse now for all the current teams that the NHL is out to get them , which is hogwash , apparently the NHL wants no one to win.

 

[paulxing]

It's obviously rigged. Hockey betting is just picking up around the world because so many bookies don't know how to price the odds properly. So all it takes is one guy with some extra change to push the lines one way or another and then pay off the ref. It happens with every sport.

 

[wingnut888]

It's obviously rigged. Hockey betting is just picking up around the world because so many bookies don't know how to price the odds properly. So all it takes is one guy with some extra change to push the lines one way or another and then pay off the ref. It happens with every sport.

Lol, just lmk which way to bet..

 

[bamlinden]

There are always going to be blown calls, marginal calls, phantom calls and "bad" calls. This happens in every sport.

If a team feels like they are being screwed by the ref's call, I think they should get the opportunity to challenge it (like in football). First one doesn't go your way, you lose your timeout. Second time, you get a minor penalty for delay of game.

I think the ref's try hard, are heavily observed and critiqued (by others as well as themselves) and have one of the most thankless jobs in sport.

Taking them out of the game will just create chaos. I can only think of the depths some players would go to get an edge.

The game's not perfect - never will be. But I think that things generally balance out in the end. In the 1200+ games during the NHL season, I don't think the ref "determines the outcome" of very many. If a team needs to blame the ref for a loss, then don't put yourselves in a position to allow it to happen.

Just my two cents.

 

[cards-gotta-go]

the part that doesn't make sense is why the refs can't have the benefit of the dozen replays from different angles as well. the tech is there and being used in other situations; use it to confirm the right call is being made!

Because nobody wants to have replays after every single stoppage. You want to sit in a rink for 4+ hours? Be my guest.

 

[chadsexington]

Because nobody wants to have replays after every single stoppage. You want to sit in a rink for 4+ hours? Be my guest.

I think there's a question of integrity too on the referee's behalf. How many people want to work for a company that has the ability to second guess and overturn everything they do at their leisure even though they've been put in a place of authority?

 

[frankiefives]

IMO, a call in the first 5 minutes should be a call in the last 5. I don't see why there should be a difference? Why do you get to grapple someone because you're behind by a goal?

It makes no sense.

Along those lines, I think a call in October should be a call in June. But that's just me.

Beyond that, all of these "bad" calls even out in the long run anyways, and teams that whine about them are teams that shouldn't be in a playoff race anyways. The better teams find ways to overcome these things, and still make the playoffs, still win series', etc.

And with respect to the fact that it's disturbing to see a ref from behind the play make a call when I guy from 3 feet away doesn't make it, well, look at the recent Sutton hit on Dupuis, and watch the ref who is 10 feet away. He doesn't make the call, the guy at center does, and he made the RIGHT call.

This is the smartest reply in the thread (with Jai a close second LOL)

 

[frankiefives]

Exactly Trevor. No one has ever paid to go and see a ref work a game. Well except my defensive friend in SK who ref'd for 11 years maybe his mom paid to see him work a game.
Back to my point. The best refereed game is one in which the ref is invisible. The direction to these guys should be call every infraction that you SEE. Don't make any close calls and don't call something that you thought maybe you saw. Don't make a call from 170 feet away . ELIMINATE THE PHANTOM CALLS!!
As much as we criticized the court when OJ got off it is better that 100's of guilty guys go free rather than convicting 1 innocent defendant.

Please tell me you didn't just use OJ getting away with murder as a comparable to phantom penalties being called in the NHL.... :|

 

[Stadium Sports]

Tampering and OJ .... this is quite the thread.

I most disturbing thing is that I find it difficult to believe 11 years.

 

[cards-gotta-go]

How many people want to work for a company that has the ability to second guess and overturn everything they do at their leisure even though they've been put in a place of authority?

Matt,

Sounds EXACTLY like where I work... not that uncommon.

 

[bkrysko]

Exactly Trevor. No one has ever paid to go and see a ref work a game. Well except my defensive friend in SK who ref'd for 11 years maybe his mom paid to see him work a game.
Back to my point. The best refereed game is one in which the ref is invisible. The direction to these guys should be call every infraction that you SEE. Don't make any close calls and don't call something that you thought maybe you saw. Don't make a call from 170 feet away . ELIMINATE THE PHANTOM CALLS!!
As much as we criticized the court when OJ got off it is better that 100's of guilty guys go free rather than convicting 1 innocent defendant.

Quit while you're behind, way behind.

While the consistency of the reffing has been sub-par, the refs have to make the call they see, its not perfect but it evens out. I think people underestimate how truly difficult the job is.

I'm also a firm believer that the game should be called the exact same from the first minute of the game to the last minute. First game of the season to game 7 of the Cup finals. That will provide a bit more consistency and maintain the integrity of the game. I'm sure a lot of people (myself included) get ticked when there's a tripping penalty called on their team in the last minute. However, say a guy on your favourite team is taking down in the last minute and no call is made, do you not find yourself screaming at the TV for a call? Remember you can;t have your cake and eat it to. (Does that saying not make any sense to anyone else? Yet they find themselves using it, facepalm).

Anyways, its not a perfect science but consistency has to be there.

 

[GrimUSMC]

Am I the only person offended by the phrase "The bad calls even out"? They do not even out, ever. A bad call is a bad call. There has been an increase in bad calls and bad officiating. This increase has been since the end of the lockout and I do not think it is a coincidence.

The NHL "tweaked" the rules after the lockout to produce more goals, that is a fact. After a year, teams adapted to the new rules, and goals per game went down. My opinion is that the referees get memos, and things said to them about not making calls during a game. I think they have been pushed to a point where they are instructed by the NHL to call borderline calls, which in turn leads to a ref making a call he may not be 100% certain about and leads to where we are now.

This is a league issue. Until the league instructs referees to call only that which you are 100% certain off, this problem will not go away. The league will not do that until they get it out of their heads that goals=$.

Thats the only way to explain the broad spectrum of horrible officiating.

 

[SkyFire47]

Because nobody wants to have replays after every single stoppage. You want to sit in a rink for 4+ hours? Be my guest.

I would be much happier if coachs were allowed one "objection" call, sort of like the red flag in football. If the penalty is overturned, the coach gets the flag back. If the call is not overturned, he loses the flag. The NFL did this because they knew the refs didnt get it 100% right during a fast full contact sport. We are only just now using replays for goals. But when a highsticking doubleminor is called on you for no reason, and the GWG is scored on the ensuing play, there is something wrong.

Even if only certain penalties were reviewable, like high sticking, holding, and goalie interference, for example.

not really much to it.

 

[Boom Boom]

Its amazing how many people on here are criticizing the NHL officiating program having never officiated a hockey game in their lives.
No.....the local peewee team doesnt count.....
When these armchair officials actually put on the stripes, and do an above minor hockey game themselves, then they can come and tell those that have how to do their job properly.
My two cents......

 

[wingnut888]

Its amazing how many people on here are criticizing the NHL officiating program having never officiated a hockey game in their lives.
No.....the local peewee team doesnt count.....
When these armchair officials actually put on the stripes, and do an above minor hockey game themselves, then they can come and tell those that have how to do their job properly.
My two cents......

Ok, thanks for the 2 cents so I'll give mine. Never officiated and I could care less if anyone on here has or not. If I'm paying my hard earned cash to go watch a game I'll criticize the officials as much as I like thank you very much!

 

[Zach6668]

Am I the only person offended by the phrase "The bad calls even out"? They do not even out, ever. A bad call is a bad call. There has been an increase in bad calls and bad officiating. This increase has been since the end of the lockout and I do not think it is a coincidence.

Ok, you're right. More bad calls is never good, of course, but all the even out thing means is that it happens with identical frequency to each team, therefore it does not give one team a competitive advantage over the long-run.

 

[GrimUSMC]

Ok, you're right. More bad calls is never good, of course, but all the even out thing means is that it happens with identical frequency to each team, therefore it does not give one team a competitive advantage over the long-run.

Yes, but time, game situation, and all the other invariables prevents everything from evening out. Thats my problem with that phrase. That phantom double minor that just let my opponent tie a game with under two minutes to go is not the same as me getting a bad call somewhere in the second period.

I still feel the league has given marching orders to the refs to make the marginal, not 100% calls, leading to things like this.

 

[Zach6668]

Yes, but time, game situation, and all the other invariables prevents everything from evening out. Thats my problem with that phrase. That phantom double minor that just let my opponent tie a game with under two minutes to go is not the same as me getting a bad call somewhere in the second period.

I still feel the league has given marching orders to the refs to make the marginal, not 100% calls, leading to things like this.

You're missing the concept of "long run".

 

[GrimUSMC]

You're missing the concept of "long run".

No I understand the concept of long run. But I don't like to hear it as justification for bad calls and no two call are ever the same. It never "evens out". There are too many variables to just say it evens out, no matter how much of a "long run" you want to use.

Maybe in the eyes of the league it "evens out" since they feel they need goals goals and more goals, but tell that to the team that lost a game on a bad call. I know the Flyers have been screwed by this plenty of times, as has EVERY other team in the league. It is bad for business and makes the officiating and the league look like a joke. When the referees are the main topic of discussion, not good. The league needs to put them in better positions to succeed instead of trying to make the game a big power play.

 

[Boom Boom]

I still feel the league has given marching orders to the refs to make the marginal, not 100% calls

There's no conspiracy. The rules of hockey as written in the rule book are open to a certain degree of interpretation. Thats what makes this game very difficult to officiate compared to other sports. As a result of this wide degree of interpretation one persons "roughing penalty" is another persons "hard nosed play" or highstick, or elbow etc...
The league has a very clear idea of what they are trying to enforce when it comes to the rules as per their interpretation of the rules. Certainly there will be many who disagree with what the on ice officials call......but conspiracy? No......