Viewpoint

I think some of us are guilty of a short memory. Do we remember the fiasco of video replay for players being in the crease? If the tip of the blade was in, no goal. They had to do it that way because it was the only objective measure of being in the crease. Using replay to determine something subjective, such as goalie interference, will never work.

I would be more in favour of giving the on ice officials the power to quickly review the play to determine if there was contact, but no sending it to head office for review. Even still, it's possible to interfere without making contact, just ask any goalie who has tried to make a save by going aroung the guy parked in his crease, so contact isn't even the determinative factor.

For the NFL fans, the challenge can't be used for judgement calls. They don't review whether there was holding at the line of scrimmage if it wasn't called by the ref (from my memory of watching a few games). They review where the ball was at the whistle, was the knee down, etc. Referees' judgement on what is a penalty is not up for review.

I think there is enough being reviewed as it is. The only way to improve it in my mind is to set a time limit for the review so that we don't sit there watching 10 minutes of refs standing at the timekeepers box.

Upon the issue of video review, I have to say, I for one agree to disagree for the sake of agreeing upon whether video review should take place, which is a disagreeable point considering I would like to agree that all comments are disagreeable to a degree of agreement. That's my agreeable or disagreeable 2 cents!

Somewhere,Sean Avery is laughing his A** off...

The ref should have the power to take a look at crease infractions anytime using replay. Also, I think coaches should get a challenge twice a game, +1 more in OT to review anything on video. It works in the NFL! Get the call right!

If they can use video replay to make sure the puck entered the net correctly, then it should also be used to determine if the player allowed it to enter the net correctly.(Thank you Miss Manners)!

I have returned to nominate Ron McClain for NHL Commissioner. Gary Bettman can take hie basketball stuff(i.e. lottery pick) and go back to the NBA. He has reduced Hockey to the level of the NBA, an inferior product. I have been a hockey fan since 1947, even though I am an American, and I feel Bettman has not been good to or for the game so many of us love.

I appears I am in the minority here... We have the technology, all other major sports use it... Is the league that afraid of change?

I put more emphasis on making the correct call. The rules are so vague. Basically the official can make any call they want.

The rules need to be looked at and the use of technology needs to be implemented. Then there will be no need for comments like "mistakes happen, there is still a human element to the game, and we shouldn't lose any more of that."

Video review...either use it or don't use it. BUTT be consistent. Unlike Mike Murphy and the NHL front office, don't make s... up!

Cliff you said it. I have gone from watching 100+ regular season games every year and as many playoff games as me and my recorder could handle to a record low of 10 games (total!) this year. Quite frankly it's not hockey anymore and if the NHL and its ref lapdogs make it any more obvious that they want their poster-club of the Pens to win, I will stop watching altogether.

Powerplays are not exciting and if that is the only way the league can get scoring up, then that's a sad thing to say about today's players. I am no fan of Gretzky, but watch any of the games he played in and he was fighting through every single game what the NHL today calls hooking, holding, slashing, and interference.

Powerplays are the exact opposite of exciting hockey and the sooner Gary Bettman realises that or he goes back to basketball and we get a real hockeyman running the show, the sooner I will be watching games again, buying merchandise, and taking trips to arenas. Until that day arrives I won't spend a single dime on this fuzzy ballet on ice Bettman's trying to turn hockey into.

I for one disagree with taking those in Toronto, that make a final judgment on whether or not it's a goal should butt out.
If they did'nt make those calls, there would be too many goals wrongly allowed,or dissalowed.

As for Garry Bettman,is'nt he an American?
I beleive the NHL Commisioner should always be a Canadian, being that the game
of hockey was origionated in Canada.
Was'nt it derived from lacrosse, which the
native indians of Canada invented? (more
or less?)

royalflush2112

I disagree with anyone giving the on ice officials any more power in decisions. More should be done with the video revue if needed but the hockey I have been watching over these last few years leaves me with no confidence in the on ice officials at all "worst reffing ever". I also believe the 2 ref system makes for a schizophrenic feel in a game as apposed to the old way where you could get a handle as to how the game was going to be called, not any more. I also have a question you might persue...has there been more playoff overtime games decided on the powerplay this year than any other year?

Video replay should receive consideration for use in the playoffs because so much is at stake. An error should not determine the outcome of a game. What if this had been an OT goal?
Subsequent still photos showed Turco's stick between Holmstrom's legs thus impeding his own lateral movement.
Bettman's comments further convince me that Ron McLean woulb be an excellant choice for NHL Commissione because GB is not a hockey person.

Scott, not only do I agree video officials should butt out, I also think on-ice referees have to start putting away their whistles except for far more blatant infractions. Referees are now dictating the tempo of games and even deciding outcomes. That was never the intent--the power play has become lethal and certain teams that play a more physical game, like Anaheim and Philadelphia, are being punished while the more finesse teams are thriving. I think this is the underlying intent; league head office would still like to see a warmer, fuzzier style of hockey, less fights, less intimidation, more scoring, more (let's face it) European. That is not the view of most hard-core hockey fans but that has never mattered to Mr. Bettman and his allies, who still live in this fantasy world of selling the game to the U.S. marketplace for HUGE bucks and, thus, earning owners a fortune. They're tampering with the game for the crassest motivations possible, attempting to tear the guts out of a sport that is the most exciting in the world.

I think the replays should be viewed only by those officiating the game: the refs and linesmen. It should be up to the refs to decide whether a review is needed and what the eventual call should be, not a league official in Toronto or New York. If the refs cannot agree amonst themselves then a call should be made for an objective perspective.

True hockey fans can be comfortable with neither goals scored although uncalled goalie interference took place nor goals not counted because of improper interference calls. Old problems arise here because, in games played at NHL speed, referees are going to make mistakes (after all, even watching slo-mo replays often leaves one unsure of what really happened). One can only ask the refs to be consistent and to avoid the tendency to employ "make up calls" when they realize that a mistake had been made earlier in a series or a game. The officials in the playoffs are perpetually under enormous pressure, their job is usually extremely difficult, there is an extraordinary level of scrutiny of their work product, and it has been reported (although not confirmed by the league) that they are they are fallibly human.

One could make a good case for reviewing all goals for interference in the playoffs (not necessarily the regular season games). It is possible that a very slight delay could be involved, but the issue is so prevalent and, at the same time, so important that the idea seems warranted.

On another related matter, the question of the infamous "kicking motion" issue needs another look. Replays often create confusion and dual interpretations. Perhaps the rule should be changed to either allow all goals deflected off of skates or none at all. It is well past the time for the NHL to revisit that question.