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Officiating Brethren Haven't Forgotten Don Henderson |
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Follow Paul on Twitter: @paulstewart22
Last week, I was flipping channels between a couple of NHL games and saw a little bit of the Calgary Flames' win over the Colorado Avalanche. One of the broadcasters praised a good play by Flames defenseman Dennis Wideman on a Calgary penalty kill. My thoughts drifted to a friend of mine, linesman Don Henderson. I felt a rush of anger.
The media has largely forgotten about Don, but his officiating brethren haven't.
Wideman, who apparently considered HIMSELF the victim of his unprovoked hit on an unsuspecting Henderson, had his NHL suspension reduced by an arbritrator from 20 games to 10 in a gross miscarriage of justice. Longtime NHL linesman Henderson, a loyal "foot soldier" who always did his job with no fanfare or glitz and for less money than the average person thinks an NHL official must make, will NEVER skate again.
Wideman got to stay in the sport and got back a lot of his so-called forfeited money. Henderson got to have surgery to remove two discs from his neck.
You never hurt the ones you love and all of us who worked and played in the NHL love the game and the league itself. It is, in fact, my deep love for the NHL that is at the root of any criticisms I issue when I think the league goes astray.
With that said, Henderson is the party that's been wrong here. My advice to him would be to go for the throat, the wallet and the vault. His career is done, and this is not as isolated as outsiders think, nor is it solely an NHL issue by any means. This is happening all over the hockey world at every level.
So if you were wondering why I reacted so strongly to anyone suggesting that Arizona's Anthony DeAngelo -- a player with a rap sheet of being verbally abusive to even a teammate and now putting his hands on an official while mouthing off as he was escorted away from an altercation with an opponent-- should not have been called by the on-ice officials for abuse of one of their teammates, you are clueless about the reality is for the game's officials. I am glad the officials called DeAngelo on his garbage, which carries an automatic three-game suspension for that category of abuse.
My thoughts, you may not like, but officials need to penalize the mouth pieces hard and fast.
Yes, referees and linesmen must, too, always be accountable if they are over bearing or incorrect in their calls and actions (I underlined this because, no doubt, a large segment of readers will say, "But what about when officials cross the line?"). But so, too, must these "heroes" of Hockey that think they are entitled to do and say whatever they want, especially when there is outright abuse of officials.
When I played, it was my job to protect my teammates. It was my role, and I took it very seriously. As an official, I always had my teammates' backs, too, but there was no home crowd to cheer us on.
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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.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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