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Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • Fan 590 •
TORONTO (Nov. 19) — I write this blog with an immediate qualifier: The people I am about to criticize are – in my view – beyond reproach in their integrity, character and unabashed love for the game of hockey. I have nothing but the highest personal regard and respect for Colin Campbell, Jim Gregory, Mike Murphy, Terry Gregson and others that work so diligently beneath Commissioner Gary Bettman in the NHL office. And, that’s why I’m appealing to these gentlemen to come clean on a miscarriage of justice that is unrivaled in my years watching the sport.
You may have already seen the replay: Veteran Brad May of the Detroit Red Wings scored a perfectly legitimate goal against the Dallas Stars in the third period at Joe Louis Arena on Wednesday night. Had it counted, it would have tied the match, 2-2; Dallas ultimately prevailed, 3-1. Cruising in front of the net, Brad fired a quick backhand that skittered between Alex Auld’s skate and the left post, and came to rest at least three inches over the goal-line – the puck partially concealed from view by the white skirting at the bottom of the net. That the puck wasn’t entirely in view prompted a moment of confusion, followed by the sound of a whistle at least two seconds after it crossed the line, and by May raising his arms in triumph.
To shorten a long story, referees Dennis LaRue and Stephane Auger disallowed the goal – a ruling that was astonishingly upheld by the so-called “war room” at the NHL office in Toronto. The war room is a post-lockout innovation in which high-ranking members of the NHL hunker down to watch every game that is played on a given night… and review every goal that is scored, regardless of its decipherability. Even the cleanest goals are looked at and given a stamp of approval; those that are contentious usually prompt a delay in the game while varying replay angles are observed.
Ask any person related to the advent or implementation of the war room about its function and you’ll receive an undisguised answer: “To get the call right.” No such reply could be more simple, or credible. And, that’s why the final call on May’s tally Wednesday night was unconscionable – flying in the face of everything the league has striven for [and mostly accomplished] in the years since the lockout.
An “explanation” for the verdict was provided my long-time pal, Stu Hackel, who writes a daily hockey blog for the New York Times. The league sent Hackel the following paragraph:
“The sound of the whistle is not necessarily the determining factor when determining whether or not the play has been stopped. The determining factor is that the Referee has ruled that he no longer can see the puck or that it has been covered by the goalkeeper, etc. The time delay from that realization to the time the whistle is actually blown could mean the puck has crossed the line or come loose. If the Referee deems the play was over, then this has to be his judgment.”
That assertion may have sufficed in the years prior to the lockout, when video scrutiny was far-less thorough and extensive. In this era, there is only one legitimate criterion for reviewing a goal: Did the puck completely cross the red goal-line line before the sound of a referee’s whistle? In the reasonable view of any hockey observer, no further burden should fall upon a player, or a team. And, neither should it matter at what angle or level of the net the puck enters – be it an upper corner, a lower corner, the mid-portion, or directly along the ice, as was the case Wednesday.
Given the straightforward definition of a goal, Brad May was deprived of a perfectly admissible tally.
And, the league failed in its obligation and commitment to “get the call right”.
In the interest of damage control, the NHL has sent people such as Stu Hackel what it calls “casebook” studies – essentially reasons for not following the letter of the rule-book. I can’t speak for anyone else, but after 45 years of watching this sport, no one needs to tell me when a legitimate goal has been scored… and certainly not with the multiple TV angles that chronicle every play of every game. It is beyond me why any such person of character as Campbell, Gregory, Murphy or Gregson would think otherwise.
There is nothing tangible the league can provide the Red Wings, beyond a retraction and apology for an extremely poor decision. When asked to comment on the dispute after the loss to the Stars, the Detroit players and coaches combined diplomacy with chagrin – pointing out how undeserving they might have been for a victory, given their level of performance. Under the circumstances, that was an exceedingly courteous reply.
Now, the league has to step forward to right a wrong. An official release should be circulated by NHL headquarters stressing the iniquity of the decision rendered on Wednesday night.
Some would possibly view this as sign of weakness or instability.
I would view it as confirmation of the principle, integrity and honor the people involved possess… the very good people in the NHL that I’ve had the privilege of knowing through the years.
E-mail howardlberger@gmail.com
You may have already seen the replay: Veteran Brad May of the Detroit Red Wings scored a perfectly legitimate goal against the Dallas Stars in the third period at Joe Louis Arena on Wednesday night. Had it counted, it would have tied the match, 2-2; Dallas ultimately prevailed, 3-1. Cruising in front of the net, Brad fired a quick backhand that skittered between Alex Auld’s skate and the left post, and came to rest at least three inches over the goal-line – the puck partially concealed from view by the white skirting at the bottom of the net. That the puck wasn’t entirely in view prompted a moment of confusion, followed by the sound of a whistle at least two seconds after it crossed the line, and by May raising his arms in triumph.
To shorten a long story, referees Dennis LaRue and Stephane Auger disallowed the goal – a ruling that was astonishingly upheld by the so-called “war room” at the NHL office in Toronto. The war room is a post-lockout innovation in which high-ranking members of the NHL hunker down to watch every game that is played on a given night… and review every goal that is scored, regardless of its decipherability. Even the cleanest goals are looked at and given a stamp of approval; those that are contentious usually prompt a delay in the game while varying replay angles are observed.
Ask any person related to the advent or implementation of the war room about its function and you’ll receive an undisguised answer: “To get the call right.” No such reply could be more simple, or credible. And, that’s why the final call on May’s tally Wednesday night was unconscionable – flying in the face of everything the league has striven for [and mostly accomplished] in the years since the lockout.
An “explanation” for the verdict was provided my long-time pal, Stu Hackel, who writes a daily hockey blog for the New York Times. The league sent Hackel the following paragraph:
“The sound of the whistle is not necessarily the determining factor when determining whether or not the play has been stopped. The determining factor is that the Referee has ruled that he no longer can see the puck or that it has been covered by the goalkeeper, etc. The time delay from that realization to the time the whistle is actually blown could mean the puck has crossed the line or come loose. If the Referee deems the play was over, then this has to be his judgment.”
That assertion may have sufficed in the years prior to the lockout, when video scrutiny was far-less thorough and extensive. In this era, there is only one legitimate criterion for reviewing a goal: Did the puck completely cross the red goal-line line before the sound of a referee’s whistle? In the reasonable view of any hockey observer, no further burden should fall upon a player, or a team. And, neither should it matter at what angle or level of the net the puck enters – be it an upper corner, a lower corner, the mid-portion, or directly along the ice, as was the case Wednesday.
Given the straightforward definition of a goal, Brad May was deprived of a perfectly admissible tally.
And, the league failed in its obligation and commitment to “get the call right”.
In the interest of damage control, the NHL has sent people such as Stu Hackel what it calls “casebook” studies – essentially reasons for not following the letter of the rule-book. I can’t speak for anyone else, but after 45 years of watching this sport, no one needs to tell me when a legitimate goal has been scored… and certainly not with the multiple TV angles that chronicle every play of every game. It is beyond me why any such person of character as Campbell, Gregory, Murphy or Gregson would think otherwise.
There is nothing tangible the league can provide the Red Wings, beyond a retraction and apology for an extremely poor decision. When asked to comment on the dispute after the loss to the Stars, the Detroit players and coaches combined diplomacy with chagrin – pointing out how undeserving they might have been for a victory, given their level of performance. Under the circumstances, that was an exceedingly courteous reply.
Now, the league has to step forward to right a wrong. An official release should be circulated by NHL headquarters stressing the iniquity of the decision rendered on Wednesday night.
Some would possibly view this as sign of weakness or instability.
I would view it as confirmation of the principle, integrity and honor the people involved possess… the very good people in the NHL that I’ve had the privilege of knowing through the years.
E-mail howardlberger@gmail.com
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