Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Every Official's Worst Nightmare

June 12, 2017, 7:14 AM ET [23 Comments]
Paul Stewart
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Follow Paul on Twitter: @PaulStewart22

Hockey officials are human beings. To err is human. Just like the defenseman who commits an ill-timed turnover or gets turnstiled on a game-changing rush, just like the forward who has a wide open staring at him with the potential tying or go-ahead goal on his stick but flubs his shot or fires high and wide, and just like the goalie who lets in an unscreened muffin from distance in a vital game, officials can miss crucial calls. Missing one that turns out to be critical in a game with the Stanley Cup on the line is every official's worst nightmare.

Kevin Pollock lived that nightmare last night in Game Six of the Stanley Cup Final. His mistake on a would-be Nashville Predators goal in the second period will forever haunt him in a game ultimately won 2-0 by the Pittsburgh Penguins on a late third-period goal and empty netter. Sadly, to some it will define his entire career no matter how long or how meritorious his overall body of work. I feel badly for him, because it could happen to anyone.

If folks can put down their internet pitchforks for a moment, I'd like to revist four cardinal rules of officiating. Three of the four are systemic problems in the National Hockey League that too often set up officials and officiating teams to fail rather than succeed.

1. The money is at the net. Go to the net. Time and again, I have recited this mantra in my blog space here at HockeyBuzz, my airtime as a frequent radio show guest and, more directly, to aspiring and current officials who attend my officiating seminars. For those of you who are unaware, the NHL coaches its officials to stay out of the way in the corners even on net plays. This goes in in many other leagues as well. It's terrible coaching that far too often leads to bad outcomes.

2. Positioning sells calls. It is much easier to justify a call when an official is in proper position and has the best look at a play of anyone on the ice. When the official is out of position, not only does the likelihood of a missed call go up significantly but the credibility of standing behind one's call goes down in equal proportion. Yes, an official can be in the right position and still not make his best call (such as being too hasty with a whistle with the puck disappears from his view) but good process more often leads to good calls. The NHL shoots itself in the foot by not coaching its officials on proper position on the single most crucial calls in a game; goal or no-goal situations around the net. Folks are more likely to forgive, say, a missed hooking penalty than they are a missed goal call.

3. Skate where you need to skate to see what you need to see. This mantra, and its associated skating techniques to get the optimal look at a play while not getting caught up it it, needs to be drummed home until it is second nature. Last night, Pollock had an opportunity to hustle over to where he could have gotten a better vantage point to see if the puck was covered or loose. He needed to get to the right area and arrive quicker in order to give himself the best chance to judge the play.

4. The prime directive is to get the call right. Communication is paramount, both on the ice among the officiating crew and also between the on-ice officials and replay officials.

I have nothing against replay in hockey. Technology can be a powerful tool for arriving at the correct call, whether it is confirming an original call on the ice or changing it if need be. What I have a problem with is the illogical way that the NHL operates its replay system, both in the "Situation Room" in Toronto and the coach's challenge system.

For example, with the coach's challenge system, why are we spending so much time looking for splitting-hairs offside calls? Why are the stakes of a challenge a timeout that can only be used once in a game? It would make a hell of a lot more sense to focus on correcting blatantly missed calls and for the stakes of an unsuccessful challenge attempt to be a bench minor for delay of game. Why isn't the best available technology being used?

With the video reviews, there needs to be involvement from former or current on-ice officials as part of the Situation Room system. Just as important, there needs to be sharper communication between Toronto and the on-ice officials as well as the on-ice crew. There was a way to remedy what happened last night by huddling up, going to replay (where it was very clear in this instance that the puck was loose near the net and what should have been a legal goal was scored). Rule 38.4 (iv) states the following (bolding added for emphasis):

The video review process shall be permitted to assist the Referees in determining the legitimacy of all potential goals (e.g. to ensure they are “good hockey goals”). For example (but not limited to), pucks that enter the net by going through the net meshing, pucks that enter the net from underneath the net frame, pucks that hit the spectator netting prior to being directed immediately into the goal, pucks that enter the net undetected by the Referee, etc. This would also include situations whereby the Referee stops play or is in the process of stopping the play because he has lost sight of the puck and it is subsequently determined by video review that the puck crosses (or has crossed) the goal line and enters the net as the culmination of a continuous play where the result was unaffected by the whistle (i.e., the timing of the whistle was irrelevant to the puck entering the net at the end of a continuous play).


If this protocol had been followed properly on all sides last night, a correct call could still have been made. Thus, what we really had last night was a massive systemic failure above and beyond a human error by a single official.

Hockey fans are human beings, too. Sadly, it's often human nature to kick others when they're down, especially verbally (and most especially nowadays through social media and internet message boards). Here's a suggestion to those who constantly gripe about the officiating: Become part of the solution. Grab your skates, train to become an official, learn what the real-life realities are of the job, work your way up and help raise the bar.

*********

Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.

Today, Stewart serves as director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.
Join the Discussion: » 23 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Paul Stewart
» The Stew: Kevin Pollack, We Nearly Missed, Thank You Fans
» Officiating: Reasonable Doubt vs Miscarriages of Justice
» My Advice to Matt Rempe
» Greig, Rielly and "The Code"
» Chirping Zebras Podcast