Proof Emerges That Referees Are Biased Against The Leafs

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Tyler Ball
March 24, 2024 (8:00 PM)

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Tonight the Toronto Maple Leafs are in a key battle against the Carolina Hurricanes. Early into the game, some have pointed out that the referees seem to have a potential bias against the Maple Leafs.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are firmly in a good position to make the playoffs this season. However, as of now, they are the three seed in the Atlantic. Over the last couple of weeks, the Maple Leafs are looking to steal a few games and overtake the Florida Panthers for the two-seed, and start the playoffs at home.

Tonight a big step toward that goal could be taken with a win against the Carolina Hurricanes. Both teams are highly potent offensive teams looking to stay hot heading into the playoffs. During the early parts of the game, one person noticed a potential bias in calls going toward the Carolina Hurricanes on a play involving John Tavares.

so they blew the whistle but didn't call anything

In the video, John Tavares is skating behind the net for a loose puck when Hurricanes defender Jaccob Slavin swings his stick at John Tavares breaking Tavares' stick. At that moment that whistle blew and play was stopped. Despite the obvious looking penalty none was eventually called.

NHL refuses to hold referees accountable for their calls on the ice

This missed call has led to fan complaints once again that referees are not being held accountable. Many want the referees to have to face the media much like players and coaches are forced to after games. However, a press conference held earlier this year by NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly has indicated the league does not feel the same way.

«I don't think there's any appetite to change our current policies with respect to our officials and their talking to the media,» said Daly. «Having said that, I don't think we're escaping any responsibility to address the media when controversial judgments or decisions are made. But I think that falls more to Colin Campbell and to Stephen Walkom and Gary Bettman and to me occasionally when those situations happen.»

This quote from Daly likely means that unless there is a major screw up during a highly seen game like a Stanley Cup Finals game we will not see change anytime soon. Daly's comments we can expect to see more situations such as the one John Tortorella faced when he was ejected and the fans were not provided with any context for the entire situation. This is unfortunate in a sport that is as great as hockey there is a clear change that could be made to make the product better and the league just seems unwilling to do so.