Yet, officiating never improves. As a matter of fact, it's more inconsistent and bewildering than ever.
Maybe the NHL should change their model?
I would disagree. I think officiating has improved tremendously since the 1980s. I'd also argue that it has continued to improve slowly over the last decade.
Okay, I'm a stupid old herbivore walking slowly around the taiga, following the amazing Mrs. Moose around, so I can't produce advanced statistics, fancy charts with bright colours, and dazzling mathematics. But I did see a
lot of games as a young moose and it was always understood that the ref would miss some calls and would make some incorrectly. (Even on the old, low-def square video archival footage, the blown calls are obvious.) Everyone accepted that.
Having the ref make mistakes back then was akin to today's response to a ref or linesman not getting out of the way of the puck in time: a part of the game. We grumbled about it but we understood on some level (the same level that you know which bark and shrubs and twigs are most delicious) that it would all even out over time. Nobody used to claim it was a conspiracy and that the refs were out to screw over a particular team or boost a particular market.
Except Montreal, of course. Everyone knew the refs were toughest on the Canadiens. Even the retired refs now admit it.
If i was a ref and a player said those words to me i would giggle my ass off and say with a laugh , get outa here you goofy kid but i sure wouldn't give him a penalty .
