Referees respond: «Don't expect us to raise our arms, our job is to manage the game.»
Officiating has been a hot topic in this year's Stanley Cup Playoffs, and today's bombshell claim from Montreal Canadiens insider Renaud Lavoie has the potential to utterly derail proceedings.
According to Lavoie, an unidentified NHL general manager advised GMs before to the playoffs that the referees were actively planning to change the way games are called.
Lavoie writes:
"Before the playoffs, we were told: 'Don't you expect us to raise our arms when there are penalties, our job is to manage the game."
What exactly are you talking about? It is your responsibility to call the rulebook. That is all there is to it. If things are getting out of hand, manage the game, but there should be nothing to manage if you ref the game properly.
The truth is that this is an argument that we have every post-season. In the name of "playoff style hockey," the referees let everything go, and supporters go insane when their beloved team is penalized for a non-call. The study from Lavoie today merely confirms what we've all suspected for years: NHL referees don't call games fairly.
The NHL must now accept that they have a problem and take swift action to rectify it. They don't need to make a big public service announcement, but the matter must be addressed internally through the referees union, and there must be some accountability within the ranks and files. But, to be honest, I'm not holding my breath.
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