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During my playing days and the early part of my refereeing career, the vast majority of players came up to the professional ranks already knowing how to protect themselves. They knew not to leave themselves in a vulnerable position, such as by turning to face the boards. They knew how to get along the wall to absorb a hit they couldnt avoid.

Players also knew how to use their stick for self-defense. They turned the stick horizontally and raised in high enough to wedge off a would-be checker or convince him to veer off the hit rather than running himself directly into a stick.

What happened in Saturday's game between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins -- and, by the way, I really had no intention of mentioning Zac Rinaldo in a blog again anytime soon but
he has a knack for getting involved in "teaching moments" -- was an offshoot of how the game has changed for the worse.

Montreal's Nathan Beaulieu saw Rinaldo approaching to deliver a hit and tried to get his stick up in self-defense. Beaulieu's brought his stick up a little too high. He ended up receiving a cross-checking match penalty for intent to injure. The NHL decided to take no further disciplinary action, which was probably the right decision in this case.

There's a triangular issue at work that reflects a much bigger set of problems: We had a player who didn't know how to properly defend himself with his stick and he could have caused an injury. We had a serial reckless hitter who has no regard for anyone's safety, so his intended hit target appeared to panic a bit when he saw the opponent heading toward him even after he'd wrapped the puck up the wall. Lastly, we have a problem with officials fearing the game and tending to overreact.


This is always telling: If there is a genuine intent to injure, the fouled player's teammates are usually enraged and leap to their teammate's defense. In this case, Boston barely reacted in the heat of the moment. I have no idea how the Bruins' players feel about Rinaldo (if I had him for a teammate, I'd do my own job to protect him but I'd personally feel that he deserved whatever he got). I suspect, however, that their mild reaction was mostly a reflection of the play itself.

It was a penalty for sure, but not something that would generally merit a match penalty.




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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.

The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.