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From time to time, I have been advised by friends and other caring people that I should temper my words a bit, especially when I am dealing with NHL subjects. They think I have some bitterness toward the League that as a kid I dreamed to join in any capacity.
That is simply not so! I hold no malice in my heart. On the contrary, I love the NHL.
No one was ever prouder than myself to pull on an NHL uniform as a player. I cherish my 17 years as a referee in the League. If I sound critical and even angry at times, it because I care so much about the League doing what's right for the good of the game.
For the record, there is not a war of words or any type of conflict between myself and the League. I have spelled out numerous times how much I like and respect Gary Bettman and Bill Daly, the great value I place in my friendships with people who work for teams around the League and, of course, the well-being and success of my NHL brethren in stripes.
The things the NHL does have a trickle-down effect on every other league at every level. Leagues throughout the world many take their cue from what policies and procedures the NHL prescribes. Good and great for them. I have no issues with that.
There is, however, a matter of my own ideas and my own experience. My views have been honed through countless hours of watching games, watching players, watching coaches and memorizing officials. I'm in the third generation of a four-generation hockey family. The Stewarts have seen this sport from all angles and at all levels.
So, if people think that I don't respect the NHL, they are dead wrong. The NHL was my longtime employer and now I work for the ECAC. I also spent several years working for the KHL. I respect each and every one.
However, my ultimately loyalty belongs to the game itself. That is the one true love that has sustained me, nurtured and energized me and given me a reason to get up in the morning.
For this reason, I can't just gulp the Kool Aid and go along with the party line every time an edict comes out of New York or Toronto. For example, the League may trumpet it's new diving/embellishment rule as a crackdown when it's really a weakening of a tougher rule that went unenforced. Some folks have meekly gone along with the NHL spin that it's a "toughening" of the rules. I know differently, and will say so.
On the other hand, when the NHL gets it right in my view, I say so. I am no longer involved in Hockey Fights Cancer but I think the League still does a tremendous job with it. In terms of disciplinary rulings, I go case by case. When I agree with a ruling, I say so. When I disagree, I pull no punches. That's how I am.
Say what you will, but keep in mind that there's a bigger picture. I look at the NHL's impact globally and right down to the grass roots of the game in our own backyard rinks. How will the NHL's policies and actions impact all of our games? . In my capacity as ECAC director of officiating, I once got into it after a game with a coach from a collegiate team. This coach is someone I have known a long time and respect for a tenure marked with championships. We went at it, nose to nose. He was advocating for his team and I was fighting on behalf of mine (the officials).
Many people were shocked, because it happened out in the open. But it was never something personal. It was a hockey argument. Later on, at the Coaches' Convention in Naples, we got together. Over a beer or two, we chuckled and talked about everything under the sun. I don't think hockey even entered the discussion, and certainly wasn't the main topic.
Here's my point: Friction is part of our game. Those of us who achieve longevity in this sport come to accept that fact. You aren't always going to agree with everything, maybe even most of the time you wonder why they do it. At the end of the day, you are still bound together as colleagues and friends.
As for myself, I have always lived by a Shakespearean mantra. To thine own self be true. It's just hockey, folks, nothing personal. ************************************************************************
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.