Do The Referee's Play Favorites?

Hockey Talk

I see a lot of discussion about how the referee's seem to favor certain players when it comes to calling penalties; especially when the game is on the line. While it doesn't hurt to have a kid named Sidney on your team, I don't think that there is any kind of conspiracy by the referee's or pressure by the NHL office to see to it that some teams make it into the playoffs, but at the same time the referee's are human and are well aware that some teams and players are "more equal" than others, and may unconsciously lean a little toward certain players when it comes to penalties. On the other hand, I watched a game recently where the star named Sid was getting banged around all through the game, without nary a call. There can be a fine line in protecting a star player from constant harassment and abuse , and in allowing the opposing team to try and neutralize the key players.

Washington Capitals Hockey
Sports and Culture

Hockey....Then and Now

As a child growing up in Baltimore, one of my passions was going to Baltimore Clippers hockey games in the Winter. While it wasn't the NHL, it didn't matter because it was still hockey, and besides it was all we had. While the game is basically the same as it was back then, there have been many changes since that time, and most are for the better. For instance, I remember a time when the teams were seated on opposite sides of the ice. I don't know why this change was brought about, but I imagine it's for the better or they would have gone back to the old way. I also remember when very few of the players wore helmets let alone face guards. Nowadays, the thought of players not wearing helmets seems ridiculous, but wearing a helmet back then would have qualified you as a sissy. I also remember that most of the players back then looked more like typical hockey players, beat up and missing most of their teeth. In contrast, many of the hockey players in the NHL today look as if they could be posing for GQ or Playgirl. Obviously most of the players back then didn't make the money that players make today, and most likely couldn't afford a good orthodontist, and wouldn't go to one if they could.

Washington Capitals Hockey
Sports and Culture

NHL Needs to Ditch the Dive Penalty

I watched a game last night where a player was obviously tripped and a penalty was called on the player, but a penalty was also called on the player tripped for "diving". This penalty is one that I think that the NHL should consider getting rid of because it's too subjective of a call for the referee to make. To start off with, the majority of the time the call is against a player who trips another player, and the "dive" or "unsportsmenlike conduct" is assessed because the referee determines that the player tripped has tried to enhance the penalty by tripping a bit too much? Just what would be enough of a fall for it to be a penalty and what is too much? Is it that the player hits the ice too hard, or slides too much, or makes a funny face? The point is that the whole thing is too subjective and is not an obvious call like high sticking, boarding, elbowing, etc., and should be done away with, or maybe the referee's can use instant replay to see if the player actually did enhance the penalty or not.

Washington Capitals Hockey

NHL Playoff Structure

I've heard several people comment that everybody in the NHL makes the playoffs. Well, the truth is only about half the teams do actually make the playoffs. While that may seem like a lot compared to other sports, I think that it actually makes the game more exciting in that just about every game during the last month of the season has some kind of playoff implications. For instance, if you look at the standings at this late point in the season, there are only four or five teams in each division that has no real chance of making the playoffs. The other teams are fighting for the playoffs and playoff position, making practically each game important.

Another thing I like about the NHL playoffs, is that each series consists of a best of 7 and not some lame best of 5 like Major League baseball has with their divisional playoffs. In a seven game series, the better team is going to win most of the time as compared to a best of five, where a team can throw a couple of dominant pitchers out there, and win the first two games virtually locking up the series before it even gets started. More than any other sport, the NHL playoffs are an endurance test, and the teams that get to the Stanley Cup Finals have earned their way their. While many people talk about the excitement of March Madness, I look forward to the excitement of NHL playoff hockey, and it's wars.

Brodeur Breaks Record

Congratulations are in order for Martin Brodeur who recently broke Patrick Roy's record of 552 wins. While people are quick to say that Brodeur now ranks as the greatest NHL goaltender, I would just say that he is indeed one of the best. Winning as many games as Brodeur has requires many things including good health, playing for a good team, lots of skill, and a bit of luck. For there have been many excellent goaltenders who's career was cut short by injury. And there have been many excellent NHL goaltenders who never won the cup because they never played for teams such as the Devils or Red Wings. There's no doubt that 20 or even 50 years from now Brodeur will rate high among the all time greatest goaltenders, but I believe it's enough to say he's one of the best, and not necessarily the greatest to have ever played the game.

How Important is the Plus/Minus Rating?

While watching a game, one of the statistics that they like to profile is the plus/minus rating of the players. The way that it works is that a player gets a plus if a goal is scored while they are on the ice, and conversely they receive a minus if a goal is scored against them while they are out there. While every player would want to have a great plus minus rating, there's several factors that come into play. First off, you have to be on a pretty decent team to have any realistic chance of having a great plus/minus rating. For instance, Brendan Witt of the New York Islanders has one of the worse ratings of -32. Is this terrible stat because he plays on one of the worst teams in the NHL or the fact that he's not having a very good year? Probably both, but I'm quite certain that if Witt played for the Red Wings or the Bruins his numbers would look a lot different. For instance, the only player on the Bruins who has a minus rating of more than -1 is Mark Recchi and that's because Recchi played most of the year for the lowly Tampa Bay Lighting, and was just recently traded to the Bruins.

While all players would love to have a great plus/minus rating I think it's obvious that it has as much to do with who you play for, and while the number is interesting to chart, doesn't necessarily reflect the true value of a player.

Coaching Turnover

I was surprised to find that the Washington Capitals coach, Bruce Boudreau is the 5th longest tenured coach in the NHL, and he's only in his first full season. It seems like G.M.'s have a much shorter leash these days when it comes to coaches, and the old line, "what have you done for me lately" is the motto in the NHL these days. For instance, both Guy Carboneau and Michel Therrien led their teams to the playoffs last year but both are out of work as their respective teams struggled this year. While many of the fired coaches turn up coaching somewhere else the next year, many G.M's are looking to the minor league ranks these days as many of the new coaches are coming from the AHL ranks. It's all about winning in professional sports, and as many NHL coaches are finding out, your track record means little these days.