Tag: officiating

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Marcus Foligno calls out the NHL’s “bullshit” officiating in Game 4.

Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports

Game 4 between the Minnesota Wild and the Dallas Stars will go down as a controversial one, with many on the Minnesota Wild side of the equation leaving the game feeling like they got a raw deal from the National Hockey League’s officials. None more so than veteran Wild forward Marcus Foligno.

Following the conclusion of Game 4, Foligno made no effort to hide his disdain, or avoid any potential fines, when he slammed the officiating in Sunday’s game. Specifically, Foligno objected to a pair of penalty calls that had been made against him during the course of the game.

The first, an interference call that Foligno argues should have been fair game, and a highly controversial “tripping” call that would be levied against Foligno at a pivotal moment late in the game’s third period.

”It’s a joke. It doesn’t make any sense,” said Foligno on Sunday. “I go to hit a guy who touches the puck. It’s not interference. I go, I get high-sticked in the face. It’s not a tripping call when you hit a guy clean on. It’s bullshit.”

Foligno also indicated that he had received no explanation for why the call was made, and used the word “arrogant” to describe what he did encounter from the NHL officials on the ice Sunday night.

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Referees miss penalty just before Carolina’s OT winner!

Rob Taub

The Carolina Hurricanes took a 2-0 lead in their first-round series against the New York Islanders on Wednesday, but it comes with a huge controversy.

The game needed overtime to settle the score as it was tied 3-3 after regulation.

Both teams jumped back on the ice for overtime. Jesper Fast played the hero for Carolina, however, the referees played the villains. Fans on social media clearly noticed that the officials missed a high-sticking call on Scott Mayfield. The Islanders’ defenseman was injured on the sequence, but no call was made and Fast scored the overtime winner to give the Hurricanes the 4-3 victory.

However, former NHLer Mike Rupp explained why this call wasn’t made, especially in playoff overtime: 

Another officiating scandal in the first round of the series this postseason! 

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Maple Leafs’ playoff record under referee Wes McCauley only adds to officiating scandal

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are behind 0-1 in their first round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning after Tuesday’s humiliating 7-3 loss. While some blamed the performance of goalie Ilya Samsonov or the lack of discipline and energy across the Maple Leafs’ lineup, others, including captain John Tavares, have pointed at the officiating.

It’s no surprise seeing all the drama surrounding head coach Sheldon Keefe and referee Wes McCauley.

Most of us remember the David Frost and Mike Danton scandal, right? David Frost was a former junior coach turned NHL player agent who was accused of sexually assaulting a number of underage hockey players, including Danton. Frost was acquitted of the charges and Danton was subsequently arrested and convicted for conspiring to murder Frost.
Here is where McCauley comes in: he and Frost are brothers-in law and are reportedly very close. On the other side, Danton and Keefe are lifelong friends. The two grew up playing hockey together and were teammates on a junior team coached by Frost when the alleged abuse took place. Fast forward to Danton’s trial and it was Keefe who was on the stand testifying against Frost.

Scouting the Refs dug a little more and offered on Wednesday the Leafs’ playoff record under McCauley.

It does not look good:

This will only add fuel to the emerging scandal happening in Toronto with fans calling for justice in this conflict of interest.

But will they start blaming Wes McCauley too for the Maple Leafs’ lack of success in the postseason since 2004?! Come on, the Maple Leafs will need to focus on what they can control, stay disciplined and get the win in Game 2 before heading to Tampa. 

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Sheldon Keefe slams NHL officials for their treatment of Michael Bunting.

John E. Sokolowski/USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs are very unhappy with how one of their player’s in particular has been treated by National Hockey League officials on the ice, and it seems they are finally speaking out about it.

After falling to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday, in what was a meaningless game for a Maple Leafs team that has already locked in their first round Stanley Cup playoff matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it would be after the game that the real drama would unfold.

During the course of the game, the Maple Leafs clearly felt that Michael Bunting was targeted by the officials, including being called for a penalty after he was on the receiving end of multiple cross-checks to the back.

That wouldn’t be the only incident that the Maple Leafs took issue with during the night, with head coach Sheldon Keefe also clearly disagreeing with a 10 minute misconduct that was awarded to Bunting later during the same game.

Following the game the Maple Leafs head coach spoke to the media and made it crystal clear how he felt about the officiating towards Bunting.

“Surprised? Based on the way that he’s been officiated of late, no not surprised at all,” said an unhappy Sheldon Keefe.

In fact the head coach went one step further and made it clear that the team would be raising the issue with the National Hockey League immediately following the game.

“Kyle [Dubas] will talk to the league,” confirmed Keefe following the game.

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Rick Tocchet, Elias Pettersson call out the NHL’s officiating.

Bob Frid/USA TODAY Sports

The Vancouver Canucks are out of the playoff picture and have been out of it for quite a while now but, since the mid-season addition of head coach Rick Tocchet, the team has done a relatively good job of playing out the National Hockey League’s 2022-23 regular season as though the games are still meaningful.

On Friday night, in spite of the fact that many of their fans would like to see the team lose for a better chance at winning the NHL draft lottery and selecting Connor Bedard, the Canucks lost a hard fought game to the Calgary Flames, one that many Canucks felt they should have won.

Following the game both head coach Rick Tocchet and Canucks star forward Elias Pettersson were noticeably frustrated with the officiating surrounding a penalty call that had gone against Pettersson, a penalty that led to a game-tying goal for the Flames.

“Yeah very frustrating,” admitted Pettersson after the game. “I don’t know what to say, I’m just pissed off.”

“I don’t wanna comment because I’ll probably get fined, they did their best and they made a call I didn’t agree with. They’re stubborn and they said it was right, so I just gotta accept it.”

According to Thomas Drance, both Pettersson and Tocchet cited a rule from the NHL’s own rulebook that appears to indicate the officials on the ice did in fact make an error, but unfortunately that will do little to remedy the actual impact of the call itself.