Do the Oilers organization need to call out refs ?

[Young Lions*]

Somewhat OT, but if anybody wonders why the officiating in the league stinks, just remember: the fish rots from the head down.

 

[Replacement*]

If they have this much animosity, they need to be taking up a different line of work. They are not professionals if they can't weed out being this subjective as much as they possibly can. They may as well be figure skating judges,

Who would be hired in as replacements?

Its not really that simple. In this day and age what would possess people to want to take up a career in the thankless job of professional officiating where you're never at home, have no personal life, no family life, and really no life period. living out of a bag and at airports. The whole while being shunned by players, spit at by fans.

What nature of regular person would be attracted to such a position? Like I mentioned what they end up getting is people who figure they are more important than the game. They get a collection of little Walter Mittys fantasizing about their big roles in the world and who left to their own scruples like nothing better than to be the center of attention. Its not accidental controversial calls occur. Again its selected for. These individuals probably LOVE making calls where they become the center of attention. It gives them some exaggerated sense of self importance.

Whereby the fan motto is usually "let the players decide the outcome" and this being a seeming no brainer, officials don't necessarily think that way.

heres what probably happens to rogue referees;

1) Make a series of unending seriously stupid seemingly troll like calls in games. Obtain gratification that everybody is looking at you, talking about you, writing about you. Go back to a room with the biggest **** eating grin you ever had right after a late dinner in which you tell the waitress 5 times. "Do you know who I am, do you know who I am".. Proceed to sleep very well that night..

2) Get called to HQ for NHL review or speakerphone or whatever hell the NHL does to try to make it look like they're doing anything to address the matter. Spend the whole while with a warm gushing glow being the center of attention.

3) Go back on the ice, be monitored for maybe a couple games. make no calls whatsoever in those games and have two teams wondering why theres no calls that night at all. Or alternately call a couple games reasonably as they should.

4) Go back to 1....


By and large, and apologies to those that aren't but pro sports leagues select for individuals that are essentially trolls. The people that get off on being yelled at, screamed at, spit at. Few other right thinking individuals would do this job.

They get all the vitriol, all the condemnation, for a job that pays them pretty much what almost any rig worker in Alberta was making.

 

[Replacement*]

Somewhat OT, but if anybody wonders why the officiating in the league stinks, just remember: the fish rots from the head down.

Pretty much.

Kudos for posting it.

The funniest thing is that people actually think the NHL is serious about addressing any and all concerns. Why would they be?

This is a league with a boss who obfuscates at every level and is worse than Cigarette Companies claiming theres no proof cigarettes cause cancer.

look, we love hockey, and the NHL happens to offer the best product but from a conscientious do right standpoint the NHL is horrible and a lot of us at least suspect that.

The NHL could care less what your concerns are as long as you go to games, watch games, patronize their product. They know you will anyway so theres no real need for them to do much to cater to public will. other than little token bits of stupid like 3 on 3, shootout, rule changes every year which the NHL does because it just creates more carnival. Creates more press, and they don't care if its bad press, just that they are in the news. The NHL would dress their officials up as skating rodeo clowns if they thought that wouldn't be too obvious..

 

[VainGretzky]

These last 3 games Oilers will get very favorable calls as it's all against non playoff teams and they do not want them having best odds for draft. Just watch we will get phantom calls for us and I predict 15 power plays next 3 games.

 

[Gone]

These last 3 games Oilers will get very favorable calls as it's all against non playoff teams and they do not want them having best odds for draft. Just watch we will get phantom calls for us and I predict 15 power plays next 3 games.

This is exactly it. If they are playing US teams, the Oilers would get the shaft ... but Canadian, non-playoff teams, the ref's will miraculously "atone" themselves.

 

[BlackDogg]

These last 3 games Oilers will get very favorable calls as it's all against non playoff teams and they do not want them having best odds for draft. Just watch we will get phantom calls for us and I predict 15 power plays next 3 games.

I would agree with this - I don't think it is any coincidence they got shafted in all three games against California.

San Jose = chincy little cross check after the whistle call on Kassian and mis-conduct for being "angry"
LA = infamous non-goal tender interference call.
Anaheim = phantom off-side with goalie pulled and puck in offensive zone.

Plus all the other more minor calls which were completely questionable.

Still can't believe there isn't any chatter in the media about it that I've seen. They don't seem to have any nads at all when it comes to this stuff.

 

[BoldNewLettuce]

Somewhat OT, but if anybody wonders why the officiating in the league stinks, just remember: the fish rots from the head down.

Yep.

Sadly I think the league has been lackadaisical in dealing with the cluster**** of problems it has been facing. I assume they are trying to deal with one issue at a time but I think the sluggish response/lack of direction all stems back to Bettman's boyish fantasy of turning the NHL into an NBA style "funhouse" sport. This isn't a knock on basketball or to say that the league wasn't justified in trying to move away from trap hockey but Bettmans vision of high flying hockey in the sunbelt is at odds with reality in a lot of ways. Thus we now have a listless league executive. Quite frankly they've let the product diminish for die hard fans and are not at all aggressive or proactive when it comes to dealing with the owners and gm's or addressing the problems which have cropped up from the changes they all made.

Next stop is 4 on 4 hockey and no fighting which is basically glorified shinny.

 

[Young Lions*]

These last 3 games Oilers will get very favorable calls as it's all against non playoff teams and they do not want them having best odds for draft. Just watch we will get phantom calls for us and I predict 15 power plays next 3 games.

That's ok. Have you seen our power play?

 

[BlackDogg]

I know from the last week of officiating I've lost some serious interest in the playoffs and probably won't watch as much as I normally would. Maybe I'll get it back and get suckered into watching the product again - not sure.

The last straw was the LA favourable non-goal call in the Flames game of all things.

 

[ponokanocker]

Pretty much.

Kudos for posting it.

The funniest thing is that people actually think the NHL is serious about addressing any and all concerns. Why would they be?

This is a league with a boss who obfuscates at every level and is worse than Cigarette Companies claiming theres no proof cigarettes cause cancer.

look, we love hockey, and the NHL happens to offer the best product but from a conscientious do right standpoint the NHL is horrible and a lot of us at least suspect that.

The NHL could care less what your concerns are as long as you go to games, watch games, patronize their product. They know you will anyway so theres no real need for them to do much to cater to public will. other than little token bits of stupid like 3 on 3, shootout, rule changes every year which the NHL does because it just creates more carnival. Creates more press, and they don't care if its bad press, just that they are in the news. The NHL would dress their officials up as skating rodeo clowns if they thought that wouldn't be too obvious..

This is my feeling as well. I'm seriously considering finding a way to stop watching/following all professional sports. They seem more and more like a joke, and I don't think that the best team always wins anymore.

 

[koeltrain]

This is my feeling as well. I'm seriously considering finding a way to stop watching/following all professional sports. They seem more and more like a joke, and I don't think that the best team always wins anymore.

I'm surprised it took this long for this type of thread. First 10 games was all it took for me to notice the bias. Whoever has a better personality on the ice gets the benefit of the doubt. I think Giroux has sucked off some refs. Anyone remember the Philly game where we got an extra penalty (Fayne?) AFTER everyone lined up for the PP in the offensive zone?
I plan on playing more sports instead of watching. I agree the best teams don't win.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

The Anaheim play I'm not too uptight about. Yes it was the wrong call, but it was a reaction call. But I'd like to know if there was any follow up to the LA/Brossoit trip.

I'd at least hope the only reason why we didn't hear anything is because Chai and company just aired it straight to the league vs. through the media. As refreshing as it was to hear Renney's "the NHL wants Hollywood in the playoffs", I don't think it put the team in anyone's good books.

 

[Gone]

The Anaheim play I'm not too uptight about. Yes it was the wrong call, but it was a reaction call. But I'd like to know if there was any follow up to the LA/Brossoit trip.

I'd at least hope the only reason why we didn't hear anything is because Chai and company just aired it straight to the league vs. through the media. As refreshing as it was to hear Renney's "the NHL wants Hollywood in the playoffs", I don't think it put the team in anyone's good books.

Plus, against SJ Yak gets a diving fine ... but Thorton for his toe pic?? There are two sets of rules that is clear.