John Buccigross on the Officiating

[hockeysattva 8]

"I believe that the games are being called very well. They are allowing big-time hits to occur, hits that are penalized during the regular season. The pick plays on faceoffs are now not being called as they once were, but to tell you the truth, I don't have a problem with that. I like a little time and space to be created and it's a play that in no way causes injury.

The Hossa play was close to a hook, but officials let skill players get away with that move because they are skill players who often make that play legally. Compared to the mess of some of the NBA playoff games, NHL referees are in complete control and largely invisible. I thought the team of referees Paul Devorski and Dennis Larue and linesmen Derek Amell and Pierre Racicot was top-notch. They did miss the Penguins' having too many men on the ice, but in a frenetic, loud Stanley Cup playoff game, that's like trying to find the extra car someone snuck into a NASCAR race.

I think video review should be used in too-many-men-on-the-ice situations. The best of the NHL officials are the best in sports because they are great skaters and they understand the soul of the game better than other officials from the four major North American sports. They are the youngest, fastest and fittest, and played more games at a higher level."

For the letter he was responding to please see: http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs/200...&id=4227753

I realize this may be just another thread on the officiating, but thought before it got merged I could put it here, as it is a personalities opinion and not mine.

[titanium2 867]

"They did miss the Penguins' having too many men on the ice, but in a frenetic, loud Stanley Cup playoff game, that's like trying to find the extra car someone snuck into a NASCAR race.

...Yeah... That's the same. Refs have been around for how long? and suddenly now it's too noisy for them to count?

[Snazzy 0]

The Ref yelling at the Penguin player to get off the ice wasn't his first clue? I think it's more than a "missed call". It was a freebie.

[#19=Legend 29]

not to mention these refs are supposed to be the best the nhl has to offer.. these are the SCF.. come on

Edited June 4, 2009 by #19=Legend

[Jake Ryan 1]

yah. The calls aren't "missed". The calls are "let go".

[hockeysattva 8]

So, you guys were all yelling, "too many men, thats too many men!!!" When you were watching it?

I would much rather the refs focus on the puck and the play, you know in case it crosses the line, than focus on counting how many players are out at any given moment. The sixth guy really was away from the play, on the ice, but away from the play.

The reffing has been good, not perfect, but it has minimally kept everything even -- so the teams can decide who will win or lose the series.

[Guest Shoreline]

They are pretty quick to call too many men usually. I don't know how they didn't see SIX Penguin skaters on the ice for that long, but then again the Wings bench didn't see it until the end, themselves. I guess the Wings bench and coaching staff are in on the ref conspiracy and were telling the Penguin player to get off the ice, amirite? I must be forgetting that logic be damned when we're talking about a situation that occurs during a Wings loss. It's gotta be the league trying to screw them.

It's the most asinine reasoning ever.

Edited June 4, 2009 by Shoreline

[Duck Guy 86]

People will NEVER be satisfied with the officiating that goes on..

The game is WAYYYYYY too fast pace to catch everything. And the refs ALWAYS hand out "freebies" to teams like they see a hook or interference and they do not call it if they called every penalty they saw there would be 120 penalty mins every period... And I do honestly believe that the penguins got jipped out of at least 1 penalty shot so them not calling one too many players on the ice is no biggie.

[FunkedUp 29]

People will NEVER be satisfied with the officiating that goes on..

The game is WAYYYYYY too fast pace to catch everything. And the refs ALWAYS hand out "freebies" to teams like they see a hook or interference and they do not call it if they called every penalty they saw there would be 120 penalty mins every period... And I do honestly believe that the penguins got jipped out of at least 1 penalty shot so them not calling one too many players on the ice is no biggie.

I get what you are saying, but with regards to the too many men situation. Do you remember when too many men were called against Columbus in game 4? In that situation the extra man was much less involved in the play than with what happened last game and it was still called.

In any case, this is a call that requires no interpretation. There are 6 men on the ice therefore its a penalty, especially in this instance cause there was 4 players cycling the puck with 2 D out there in our own zone!!! I honestly wonder how 4 refs could not see this???

Many people gripe about "hooks", "holds", "interference", but those calls are all open to interpretation and can yeild subjective views. People hate when calls like that go against their team but like it when it goes against the other team. There, however, is no excuse for that too many men non-call and was something I've never seen in decades of watching hockey.

Edited June 4, 2009 by FunkedUp

[10 Minute Misconduct 104]

refering as been fair so far

if we lose tomorrow night all hell will break lose on here.

[oldredbarnman 13]

So, you guys were all yelling, "too many men, thats too many men!!!" When you were watching it?

I would much rather the refs focus on the puck and the play, you know in case it crosses the line, than focus on counting how many players are out at any given moment. The sixth guy really was away from the play, on the ice, but away from the play.

The reffing has been good, not perfect, but it has minimally kept everything even -- so the teams can decide who will win or lose the series.

I would much rather the referees AND linesman, who can also make that call, be on top of the play. Columbus gets called in the 1st round for too many men on a close play at their bench. Now, 4 sets of eyes can't see 6 men for over 20 seconds? The player who got off was right by the center ice ref. How hard is it to count players? The score was 2-1. They miss that call, moments later the Pens get a PP and score to tie the game. That was a HUGE turn of events. It possibly could've been 3-1 Wings, or at the very least still 2-1 going into the second.

[Guest lilja4mvp]

"Brett Lebda: A beautiful skater to watch. Reminds me of a younger Kris Draper. "

LAFF. am i watching the same guy? brett looks good once he gets up to speed, maybe...but when he goes from a stop to skating he looks like he like he has a stick up his ass.

[Guest E_S_A_D]

Didn't you read the breaking news out of TSN Today? The refs NEVER MISSED THE TOO MANY MEN... they were yelling at the Pens players 'get off the ice!' So they didn't have to call the penalty. Most blatant form of cheating ever.

[Guest E_S_A_D]

http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2009/05/29/the-ref...ials-announced/

The same refs that helped Pens in game 3, were the ones that called 5 minutes on Kronwall for a clean hit.

... keep in mind too, the League let Malkin play in game 3 after initiating a fight in the final 5 minutes.

This is fixed, folks, plain and simple. Wings will still prevail, but not without the Pens playing with 6 players on the ice... literally and figuratively.

[Jasper84 333]

So, you guys were all yelling, "too many men, thats too many men!!!" When you were watching it?

I would much rather the refs focus on the puck and the play, you know in case it crosses the line, than focus on counting how many players are out at any given moment. The sixth guy really was away from the play, on the ice, but away from the play.

The reffing has been good, not perfect, but it has minimally kept everything even -- so the teams can decide who will win or lose the series.

I'm not sure if you're trying to use that as an excuse for it to be okay that they let them get away with the too many men, and if you're not then my apologies, but I'm still going to say what I thought when I first read this.

I've never played hockey, so I may be completely off here, but I honestly doubt that. Whether he was far wawy from the play or not, that doesn't matter in my opinion. They were all inside the blue line, which would force the wings players to position themselves differently to be able to cover the extra ice where the extra man is, and passing/shooting lanes to and from him, whether he got the puck during that 20 seconds or not. Just like they have to adjust themselves positionally during a PK. Point being, whether all 6 players touched the puck at one point or another during that ~20 seconds, it doesn't matter, the number of players did have an effect on how the wings positioned themselves to play the man with the puck and the surrounding spaces.

[Guest E_S_A_D]

I'm not sure if you're trying to use that as an excuse for it to be okay that they let them get away with the too many men, and if you're not then my apologies, but I'm still going to say what I thought when I first read this.

I've never played hockey, so I may be completely off here, but I honestly doubt that. Whether he was far wawy from the play or not, that doesn't matter in my opinion. They were all inside the blue line, which would force the wings players to position themselves differently to be able to cover the extra ice where the extra man is, and passing/shooting lanes to and from him, whether he got the puck during that 20 seconds or not. Just like they have to adjust themselves positionally during a PK. Point being, whether all 6 players touched the puck at one point or another during that ~20 seconds, it doesn't matter, the number of players did have an effect on how the wings positioned themselves to play the man with the puck and the surrounding spaces.

You are correct. I have played hockey and I can say, too many men is obstruction in itself. It causes less views for the goalie, more traffic, and less skating room for the opposing team. ESPECIALLY since they were in OUR zone at the time of the play. You had better believe if we tried to move through the neutral zone it'd be more difficult with 6 men on the ice.

[Broken 16 381]

It's official. John Buccigross is an idiot.

[puckloo39 5,686]

It's official. John Buccigross is an idiot.

This ^^^ is not news. He's knowledgeable, but he's as biased as they come. That's his right as a fan of the game -- as a journalist/commentator... not so much.