Former referee Tim Peel has been vocal in his defense of the NHL of late, but his assertion that it's not realistic to call the rulebook all the time needs to be challenged
I really enjoy these "Crap" pieces. As for "calling the rulebook"; it seems so simple to me. I think the players would adjust very quickly. The real issue to me is that whatever they're calling in the regular season is completely different from what they're calling in the playoffs.
Also...you should buy a little bitcoin. Just a little.
There's so much great stuff here, Ken. On the officiating issue, during my days working as a linesman in the OHA we had a supervisor who reminded the referees that they had to call the "gravy penalties" - slashes, high-sticks, cross-checks, charging, boarding, roughing - the infractions that posed a safety risk to players. And, calling penalties where a scoring chance was taken away. There are times when there's merit to ignoring an infraction, but I'd like to see officials err on the side of calling penalties.
I really enjoy these "Crap" pieces. As for "calling the rulebook"; it seems so simple to me. I think the players would adjust very quickly. The real issue to me is that whatever they're calling in the regular season is completely different from what they're calling in the playoffs.
Also...you should buy a little bitcoin. Just a little.
There's so much great stuff here, Ken. On the officiating issue, during my days working as a linesman in the OHA we had a supervisor who reminded the referees that they had to call the "gravy penalties" - slashes, high-sticks, cross-checks, charging, boarding, roughing - the infractions that posed a safety risk to players. And, calling penalties where a scoring chance was taken away. There are times when there's merit to ignoring an infraction, but I'd like to see officials err on the side of calling penalties.
Thanks so much, Steve.