Follow Paul on Twitter: @paulstewart22
So many things have changed about hockey over the years that is sometimes easier to talk about the things that never will change.
First and foremost on that list is that there is no substitute for great goaltending, especially in the Stanley Cup playoffs. That is every bit as true now as it was when I was playing and refereeing and even back in the days when my grandfather coached the Chicago Blackhawks to the 1938 Stanley Cup.
That has very much been the case this spring, too. Why did the New York Rangers beat the Pittsburgh Penguins? Why did the Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston Bruins? It starts with Henrik Lundqvist outplaying MA Fleury and Carey Price outplaying Tuukka Rask.
Although he is nearing the end of his career and is no longer one of the elites, I have a lot of respect for the way Martin Brodeur was the cornerstone of the New Jersey Devils being a perennial Stanley Cup contender for most of the latter part of my active officiating career.
To this day, when I’m watching a hockey game and I watch goaltenders, I often use Brodeur as the measuring stick. I have nothing but the highest respect for Brodeur as far as his ability and longevity.
I had a good relationship with a lot of the goaltenders over the course of time. My relationship with Brodeur was genuinely friendly and conversational for many years. We had some laughs and he seemed amused by my attempts to speak French.
Also, I knew Martin's father, who was a very nice man. I worked a lot of games at the Montreal Forum and I used to see Marty’s father, who was a photographer. He would occasionally drop by the officials' room and give me a picture. We always said hello when we saw each other and chatted for awhile.
Marty liked me. But that all changed one night when I was refereeing the opening night game in New Jersey between the Devils and the Rangers.
Noted hockey pest Matthew Barnaby was playing for the Rangers. In the first period, Barnaby stuck his backside in Brodeur’s crease. Marty two-handed him with a heavy slash.
I gave Brodeur a match penalty and threw him out of the game.
Afterwards, he came up to me after the game and said, "Paul, don't ever speak to me again. I'm never going to talk to you again."
For the rest of his career, he refused to talk to me. That’s fine. That doesn’t bother me. I still respect his talent. The call itself was a no-brainer.
I've heard he's since gotten over it, so we could probably have a good laugh about it nowadays. One of these days, maybe we'll speak. If not, that's fine, too.
By the way, after the game, Lou Lamoriello said to me, "Stewy, holy hell, he was just clearing the crease."
I said, "Yeah, but he two-handed him. I realize it’s Barnaby, who is, very honestly, a piece of crap in my mind, but it is what it is. If I was playing and Marty hacked me like that, I would have turned around and beat the hell out of him."
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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.