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When it comes to officiating and enforcing the rules of hockey, there are three components to consider. First, there's the action by the player. Second, there is the rulebook definition of the legality or illegality of that action, along with a protocol of penalizing that action based on its severity or intent. Lastly, there is the result of that action.
In terms of officiating based on the third component -- result of the play -- it can be something as simple as determining whether a team got a breakaway as a result of a borderline trip or whether a forward being grabbed and released was enough to prevent a scoring chance.
Things get more controversial where reckless hits and potential supplementary discipline are involved, and whether they cause injury or the victim is fortunate enough to escape injury. My view is that there should be punishment for such hits even if the victim is fortunate enough to avoid injury.
When I first saw the hit Pittsburgh's Robert Bortuzzo put on New Jersey's Jaromir Jagr the other night, it looked like a high hit to me. I also took into account that the play involved two big guys. Was the NHL right to suspend Bortuzzo for two games? I believe so, yes.
However, that begs a question. I'm not really sure how substantively different that play was from the one that got Montreal's Alexei Emelin fined -- but not suspended -- for a high hit on the diminutive Brian Gionta, except for the fact that Emelin is much bigger than Gionta and it, therefore more plausible to accidentally make contact around the head.
Was it judgment by result, because Jagr had to leave the game? Was the difference Jaromir's deserved status as legend of the game (which shouldn't matter in judgment)? Other than the size issue, the Emelin and Bortuzzo plays really weren't much different.
If we are going to be truly serious about getting players away from delivering head shots, there needs to be a pretty firm line drawn. Fines are non-deterrents to today's NHL players at the salaries they make. As for the Bortuzzo ruling and and of itself, I think the right decision was made.
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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 is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
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.
In addition to his blogs for HockeyBuzz every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Stewart writes a column every Wednesday for the Huffington Post.