Proposal: How to fix the officiating

[TCL40]

1.) Every goal is reviewable. The do it in the NFL, and it does not slow the game down that much. In most instances it will take seconds.

2.) Any goal directed in with a skate is a good goal BUT, the skate MUST remain on the ice. You can't have guys kicking at pucks, it's too ****ing dangerous. In fact, I'd bring in a policy where if the review shows your skate left the ice to kick the puck it's "no goal" AND your team is issued a 2:00 penalty. That will be a cut and dry rule and keep players blades on the ice.

Not sure I like a no goal or leaves the ice penalty here-mostly because sometimes a player is picking up their feet while screening a goalie to avoid the puck hitting their skate and it deflects in anyway.

But I am okay with that part being discretion and am not sure how many goals would be called back so it may be a fair trade off.

7.) Get rid of the "broken stick" slashing penalty. A slash should be a stick on body foul, not a stick on stick foul. Slashing down on a players stick should be perfectly acceptable, calling the penalty ONLY when the stick is broken or the stick is knocked out of a players hands is FAR too subjective.

Not sure I agree-slashing and breaking an opponents stick does give you an advantage. But not all contacts that breaks a stick is a slash.

I think it's annoying when players drop their sticks to draw a penalty-that one shouldn't be.

8.) Bring in a coach's challenge system. Each coach gets 2 challenges per game. If you get the challenge wrong, your team is issued a 2:00 penalty. This will keep "mis-use" of the challenge system in check.

9.) The "intended to blow the whistle" rule is horse ****. Players play until they hear a whistle, the play is live until the whistle is blown. Why make **** up as you go along?

Not really a fan of coach's challenge but totally agree on getting ridnofnthe dead in the head rule.

Play should be real whistle to real whistle not when a ref decides he intended to blow it when he didn't.

 

[DominicT]

Seems that people want some sort of accountability. And not sure this is a form of accountability. But consider this:

There are people on this board (and probably very few) that earn more than a junior official in the NHL. And their last paycheck, just like the players, comes after Sunday's games.

Now, those picked to officiate playoff games are chosen from their performance during the regular season, and those officials are paid going forward. You suck, you miss out. Simple as that. And if a junior official were to somehow make it to the Stanley Cup finals: he'd earn as much as he did in the regular season.

So there is incentive for them. And it sort of speaks to accountability.

 

[nycpunk1]

Not really a fan of coach's challenge but totally agree on getting ridnofnthe dead in the head rule.

Play should be real whistle to real whistle not when a ref decides he intended to blow it when he didn't.

All this does is switch the outrage to the other team. "I know the puck was covered up, coach. I just couldn't get that whistle blown before the puck went in. Tough break."

I think the only real fix for this problem would need to implement a dead man's switch. Once they blow the whistle, the review team can simply look at the tape at the time the switch flipped, rather than when the whistle sounded, which is too late.

 

[bobbyorr04]

I remember hearing the NHL is setting up some kind of clinic to hire an additional 40 officials and have even reached out to european officials. They need new blood.