NHL’S REPLAY RULE STRIKES AGAIN.
MATTHEWS LATEST VICTIM OF A GOAL THAT SHOULD HAVE COUNTED
Upon further review, the National Hockey League has lost its way on instant replay.
Determining what and what isn’t goaltender interference has become like bad comedy and it’s on our television screens almost every night.
Determining what is and what isn’t offside was embarrassing in last June’s Stanley Cup Final — and has gotten progressively worse since. It’s to the point where Connor McDavid, who may have taken a vow of being quoteless forever, has called for change.
The notion of instant replay in any sport is rather simple: Get the call right. But a not so funny thing happened on the way to the forum, replay has become complicated and redundant in all professional sports. The determinations have gotten more confusing. What’s obvious to one person doesn’t seem to be obvious to another. What’s supposed to be objective has turned out to be subjective.
And this was never the intention of replay at any time, in any game.
The illogic of the coach’s challenge happened again on Monday night in Toronto’s 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche at the Air Canada Centre. Second period. Zach Hyman makes a terrific play for the Leafs, beating Colorado defenceman Patrik Nemeth to a loose puck behind the Avalanche net. The puck then went from Hyman to William Nylander, who made a fine pass to Auston Matthews for the score.
This is the kind of goal hockey should be applauding. A tough play on a loose puck. Coach Mike Babcock getting what he needs from Hyman. Nylander, doing what he’s supposed to do, making a quick, perfect pass. Matthews finishing the way few others do. Except no goal. It was deemed to be goaltender interference on the history major, Jonathan Bernier. You know it was contentious for the NHL officials to make a determination because they took an inordinate amount of time before making the wrong decision. The fans, already sensing something was wrong, began booing before there was a reason to boo.
And when referee Gord Dwyer announced it was no goal, the boos got louder, followed the usual inappropriate chants of “Ref you suck” from those who have overpaid for their Leaf tickets.
When the goal wasn’t counted — I’ve watched it at least 10 times and still don’t understand the call — Babcock said something along the lines of “that’s an effing joke” which I’m cleaning up for reader consumption.
It was a joke. And it was worth swearing about. And it wasn’t funny. And frankly, the NHL, and every major sports league, needs to be better than this, more clear, more definitive, but somehow can’t seem to do the apparent and get it right.
We really don’t know what a goal is or isn’t anymore. Goalie interference used to mean Nick Kypreos ran Grant Fuhr and everyone in the country knew what it was when they saw it. Now it’s minuscule. Did someone touch him? How much was he touched? Was he able to make the play? What began as good intention has now been buried in minutiae.
Blue Jays manager John Gibbons talks about this in baseball. He knows he has to challenge slides at second base but he hates the fact it’s part of his job description. If it’s about telling whether a home run is a home run or a man is safe or out at home plate, then it has some value. When it’s breaking down every little play in ways that defy explanation, then it has lost its purpose.
The offside rule has to be changed in the NHL when it comes to replay. Good for McDavid for speaking out. Predators GM David Poile, who hates being outspoken, said it last June. This business about whether a skate is touching the ice or half an inch in the air on offside calls isn’t ridiculous, it’s stupid.
Here’s how subjective replay should work. If an official needs more than a minute to make the call, the call on the ice stands. If an official has to watch a replay, slow it up, slow it down, do it again and again and again, the call on the ice should stand.
When Matthews scored almost immediately after having his goal disallowed — on his next shift — the future Leafs captain acted more than appropriately. He pointed — the way official’s point after a goal is scored — to signal a good goal but also to let the referees know that he wasn’t at all pleased with what happened seconds earlier. This is part of what makes Matthews so special, his sense of occasion, his emotion, the fact he shows what he’s feeling when he’s feeling it.
Taking goals away from a young superstar like Matthews is bad business for the NHL but not nearly as bad as maintaining the nonsensical replay rules.