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Thanks, but no thanks, to expanded video replay in future NHL seasons

January 21, 2016, 6:16 PM ET [4 Comments]
Adam Proteau
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After one-half of the first NHL season with a coach’s challenge, one thing is clear: the expansion of video replay technology in hockey’s top league isn’t a panacea for all that ails the officiating of the sport. In fact, the only thing it’s confirmed in my mind is that there won’t ever be an easy fix to ensure every call made is the correct one.

I’m not here to tell you the NHL should turn its back on technology. In an era of high-definition TV and super slow-motion breakdowns of plays for the stay-at-home audience, the league would be foolish to move in the opposite direction and leave all calls to hinge on the senses of on-ice officials. Some league referees have told me over the years they’re not averse to being aided by video replay and the NHL’s “Situation Room”, and that’s to their credit. But after each team has played at least 41 games, I feel like there’s a time and a place for everything, replay included, and that too much of even a good thing is probably a bad thing, replay included.

In part, I say this because I cover a Maple Leafs team that has seen a goal disallowed because it was offside in each of their past three games. But it isn’t just about Toronto, or any one team. It’s about recognizing the NHL was right to be hesitant to use video replay in an all-encompassing manner. Because even with the limits currently placed on replay (it’s used only for goalie interference and missed offside), it feels as if the patience of fans is being tested.

In part, I also say this because I watched a lot of Toronto Blue Jays baseball games last summer, and it seems like that sport is having its flow and overall entertainment experience damaged by near-constant video replay. Other than the strike zone, just about every other element of baseball play can be challenged via replay, and the coaching staff doesn’t have to possibly pay a big enough price for challenging (right now, their only penalty for challenging a play that isn’t overturned is they don’t get another challenge the rest of the game). And that has led to a herky-jerky product – and one that still doesn’t leave all fans pleased, or even in consensus on any particular call.

The same effect is starting to creep into the NHL’s product. Sure, a coach will lose their timeout if their challenge is rejected, but the coaching community has quickly learned it can use the challenge as a de facto timeout, given the two-to-three-minutes it takes for any play to be reviewed. The stakes aren’t high enough for them to truly worry about the costs of stopping play, so you get more of them than you should.

And, just like in baseball, even video replay isn’t enough to assure all fans the proper call has been made. Go on social media on any given night, and you’ll quickly discover that opinions on video replay results often, if not always break down along the same tribal lines we saw before the video age arrived. The officiating of the sport is inherently subjective, and nothing, including video replay, is going to change that.

Perhaps when the NHL finds a system that definitively rules when a puck has crossed the goal line, it will be time for the league to add more technology to its mix. But as it stands, the amount of replay they currently work with is enough for me.

Veteran players and coaches have long believed that every team gets its share of bad calls over a full season or playoff series, and the best teams are the ones who win in spite of them. The more I see of the coach’s challenge, the more I’m inclined to believe them. The officials the NHL has aren’t perfect, but no league’s officials are, and no robot in existence can do what they do.

The human element will always be there, and although video replay can correct egregious errors, more often than not, it will only underscore the subjectivity of officiating.
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