2013-2014 Rule Changes - Hybrid Icing

[Rylan]

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Interesting. The tuck rule is the only rule I find absolutely moronic.

[mikey287]

Bleh...the players voted for it, so I'm ok with it. But I'm not in favor of it...

[Beveridge]

I wish they kept the icing the same or just made it automatic. I think judgement is worse than either end side of the scale.

[meow]

I like it. I like it a lot.

[Sam's Drunk Dog]

Over/under on number of days until a botched icing call leads to a goal or injury? I say 30.

[mac5155]

I just think it's funny, ironic maybe, that we think the referees are horrible. Apparently the players don't share that sentiment.

[mikey287]

I just think it's funny, ironic maybe, that we think the referees are horrible. Apparently the players don't share that sentiment.

The fans that think refs are horrible probably have never played, coached or especially reffed at any meaningful level. I'll admit that last year was quite iffy, it seemed that not everyone was on the same page, but other than that, the refs in the NHL are some of the best in all sports. I've said it once, I'll say it a thousand more times, it's really ******* hard to ref hockey...even at lower levels, the game is fast and there's a lot going on...

The players and coaches might bark about it during the game...hell, I do when I coach...but deep down, you know they're doing the best job they can and it's just part of the game...the higher you go in the sport, the more that rings true...

Fans sit there with their ten slow motion replays, listening to two or three people that allegedly know what they're talking about, a ton of different angles and sit there and make a call and think they know something...yeah, no ****...they could make the "right" call then too...

Until it goes by you, you don't know how fast pro sports happen...is reffing in the NHL perfect? No, far from it. Last year was about as bad as I've seen it to be honest, but people that think the "league is a joke" because of it or other nonsense should find something that actually know about and stick to that...

[Beveridge]

Refs make GTD threads twice as long. They contribute where it matters most.

[pcm]

We've got the technology to have an eye in the sky ref. Not someone who is going to review every play after every whistle and slow things down, but someone who can watch the different angles and speak in the ears of the on-ice refs, giving an extra perspective on things they might not have necessarily caught.

Sort of like in a spy movie, where you have the guys in the van talking into the ears of Tom Cruise to update him with prognosis. The field agent still makes the calls, but he's provided with more information / perspectives than would otherwise have.

[mikey287]

Would fans even agree with that though? I mean, Brendan Shanahan gets to sit there for 24 hours, watch a ton of replays and this, that and the third and people still give him a ton of guff...these "eye in the sky" refs would still be put on a moment's notice...would it really improve things that much...or should I say, would it really improve the perception of things that much?

Additionally, I'd worry about the nuance of the game being lost. People will be mad at this, but it's very much an important part of the game, but there's certain instances where a penalty shouldn't be called and there's certain instances where it should be called. Event X can happen at Time Y and be a good call. And Event X can happen at Time Z and be a bad call. That's the God's honest truth of the matter. If you don't have a good feel for what's going on down there, what the talk is like, how the game is being played, you might lose out on some of that sitting in front of a TV screen...

I know people say (myself included), "I just want consistency" and we all want that, the players do, the fans do, and you can get that while still having nuance left in the game. I'm scared we'd lose that with the traffic copter ref...

[IMFC]

I'll take the eye in the sky for one thing - crap going on away from the puck. Sick and tired of seeing the retaliation slash called and the blatant cross check that preceded it be perfectly okay. Everyone sees the replay and knows exactly what happened and because ref didn't see it we have to pretend it didn't happen. Moronic.

[since1970]

when I officiated I tried to never allow myself leeway to not call an infraction. I never felt it was my responsibility to worry about the flow of a game, that's the players, and if you committed a penalty regardless of when or where it happened on the playing surface and I spotted it, it was called. I was never a "no harm no foul" guy. I found out too, that once players understood the way I offciated they adjusted. I always found the toughest thing about officiating for me was to not anticipate that a foul/penalty was going to be committed, and react accordingly, it was never following the play. I knew what I was responsible for as part of a crew and concentrated on doing my job. There were always players/coaches who would get upset, and I'd let them vent to a certain point, but then I'd tell them if the same play happens again and I see it expect the same call regardless of whether it's the first minute or last second.