Officiating: The Golden Calf

currently the only known rating system is playoff gigs. the first round of the playoffs however includes most of the refs as they carry extra and the game sched are still pretty tight.

try to find any public information about NHL ref ranking and rating. try.

its the internet you think people don’t rank em? or are they just not allowed to be found?

the nfl publicly rates its officials performance for EVERY GAME. MLB now ranks its officials in ball/strike calls to the standards set by a computer monitoring system. that system is available (and used) by the networks as well- although to a more limited effect- 2-d tv after all. the nba even had to step up its over-site in the wake of point shaving scams by officials a few years back.

you want better refs? you shanaban bad calls. have someone release a video every week with the best and worse calls explaining why it was one of the best or worse calls that week.

i promise such public-grounded exposure will result in positive, not negative, effects on the game over time.

i’d like to say four things though.

1). people complain and blame the officiating way more than they should. i honestly believe mistakes are random and any number cruncher here knows random mistakes have ZERO effect on outcomes over time. and 82 games is bloody time.

2) i’d like to see linemen removed from the ice surface, and the important job they do that requires ice presence (the puck drop) be handed to the refs. we have two refs. one can learn to drop a puck, the linesmen can have a spot on the line off the ice surface. it will result in ONE fewer official on the ice during scrums than during the arena days. I’m sure the game will survive and the absence of two bodies on the playing surface will be positive to the game.

3) make the refs web site (which is, in the parlance of the internet world, craptastic) contain stats and scheds. period. the only way to track down ref movements from a fan’s perspective that i am aware of is looking at every single bloody games box scores. secrecy is not a valid tool for the integration of the official and the fan. someone NOW tell me tomorrow nights ref’s. dooooo iiiiiitttt.

4) MOST IMPORTANTLY. I think there is an opinion shared by many, i certainly hold it, that poor games get bottom tier refs. the lack of easy to find ratings and games officiated hides the legitimacy of this opinion to some extent. ASSUMING it is true, and in some cases it may even logical – the practice of loading “top teams/games” with top officials HAS to stop. the oilers DESERVE a well coached game as much as the rangers do. if you fear the weakest official link being on outdoorlife network in the great state of new york, you OBVIOUSLY have an officiating problem that needs instant addressing. RANDOMIZE WITH PROOF the regular season officiating and list the schedule.

and additionally. we may think nhl refs are the worse. i suspect they EASILY have the hardest pro officiating job, but name a sport, ANY sport, with good or easy officiating that the refs are actually liked. meh. there isn’t any. we would be hating on officiating no matter what. damn that denkinger. damn that guy who gave Colorado that extra down. damn the Dave Barry long count for Al Capone.

I don’t disagree with your four points, but again, if we don’t complain in the right ways, then it isn’t going to get better. The NHL wants to improve viewership and I see this as a huge barrier with new fans. I like your ideas for improvement though. I can see that with a mix of tech, it would easily improve call quality.

Hockey is, by many miles, the hardest, in my opinion. It’ll sort itself out in time. With the sport moving faster by the day, it can be a difficult and daunting task.

I mean that high stick on Perron with HIM going to the box was one of the worst calls I’ve seen all year, Dumbdick beating on Perron yet Perron gets the roughing penalty. What gives? Is there anyone who can give us a reasonable answer? I know it’s hard to officiate, but calls like that should be unacceptable. Need I also mention the “slash” + game misconduct of Polak last night? Give the Blues a ton of credit here for playing against such adversity and the way they conducted themselves. Some sort of review system would be great, if not some guy in a booth at each game that gives the officials legit feedback on a call via headset.

protected while shooting the puck for highsticks however but i do agree refs should be able to make an assessment when it is excessive

That being said, they did get the call on the Sutton high-stick right. It was the follow-through of a shooting motion.

60.1 High-sticking – A "high stick" is one which is carried above the height of the opponent’s shoulders. Players and goalkeepers must be in control and responsible for their stick. However, a player is permitted accidental contact on an opponent if the act is committed as a normal windup or follow through of a shooting motion. A wild swing at a bouncing puck would not be considered a normal windup or follow through and any contact to an opponent above the height of the shoulders shall be penalized accordingly.

I just never knew a pylon could shoot a puck.

The high sticking on Perron, though, was ignorant. How they saw that and missed the high stick that hit Perron in the face is beyond me.