The NHL and its ability to govern the game have never really been highly touted for its consistency. The league has a long string of blunders and smoking craters in their rearview mirrors as evidence to prove it. Monday night they added another one to the debris pile.
Officials in the first period of the Lightning-Maple Leafs tilt in Tampa gave Pat Maroon and Wayne Simmonds each a 10-minute misconduct…for trash talking.
Wayne Simmonds and Pat Maroon got 10 minutes each for talking junk 🗣️
Thoughts on these penalties? pic.twitter.com/bWtXNB7Lh3
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) April 4, 2022
The two seemed to be joking about the call while doing the time for their “crimes” in the penalty box.
Rule 75 of the NHL’s rule book states that the officials should have doled out minors before the misconducts, but even minors for talking trash seems ridiculous when compared to the overall importance within the game itself.
Needles to say NHL veteran Maroon was confused and disappointed by the call. He spoke about it after the game.
“This game is going the wrong way,” Maroon said, according to The Athletic’s Joe Smith. “I guess you can’t chirp each other on the bench now. I guess that is illegal. I guess it is better to watch 1980s hockey when guys are chirping each other, but I don’t know why they (referees) did that.”
The league continues to meander its way through yet another season with very little consistency in the calls they make from game to game, and the way they govern within each game. At some point fans are going to say enough is enough.
By Jon Sorensen
Head injuries less important than officials egos
I think the league should go the other way and offer an adults-only stream of live games with mic’d up players on both side – INCLUDING trash talk. I’d pay good money for that.
What a joke.
Yes. Time to ban boxing.
Only reason why the officials should call that a penalty is if those guys were using “really bad” words or if the trash talk was directed at the official himself. If either of those situtations had occured, supplementary discipline would ensue. Clearly, that is not what happened or there would have been very different reactions by those players.
The referee thought he should put himself into the middle of the game. What an ego!
Agreed, ridiculous.
“Needles to say”
Were they both doing the needling?
I missed the foul and just caught them sitting in the Pits of Misery. I was sure that a lot of blood had been spilt and didn’t believe the announcers when they said it was for having a discussion. Is DOPES now going to fine or suspend them?
We joke about the refs picking on Willy (and they do) but reading fan sites for other teams, no one is happy with the NHL’s officiating (or lack of) these days. “At some point some fans are going to say enough is enough.” I think we are at that point. But are the owners and GMs? It’s their vote that counts.
Like all sports its a shame when a red or umpire injects himself/herself into the game like that. Maybe one way to stop it would be for the league to flag refsor umps (depending on the sport) who miss a call or get it wrong and have them sit out their next game withpout pay. I have said for years the football needs refs who are doing this full time not part time on weekends and have other jobs. Since they can use replay to review a situation maybe they can also have a ref in the sky and let him make a major penalty call tht is missed. Football is trying to ge rid of the trash talking and its not working well even with the 15 yard penalty. Dont think trash talking will even go away. But to call a 10 minute major for it is absurd why not just give them a game misconduct if you are that serious about it or the trashtalking was that flgerent. I think just another ref who has an ego that is bigger than his job!
Here’s good non NHL story about officials not making good calls!
My youngest nephew has a cousin on his moms side of the family,he was playing in a game earlier this season & in second period he lined up beside a friend @ draw and said hey “whatever his nickname was(can’t remember exact name)”,the linesman turned & went over to ref & they kicked him out of game ! Why …..?
The linesman had “misheard” this kids “nickname” & thought he made derogatory comment about “sexual preference “. That part they didn’t find out until after game when talking to the other kid!! Funny part was the nephews cousin could have been suspended for up to 3-5 games if it would have been true “bad comment”!
Now you say what’s the point of this story,thier’s used to be old phrase you used to use in Hockey “what’s said on the ice,stays thier!”, but nowadays were so PC you can’t /won’t say anything that doesn’t offend anyone!!
I’ve said it before I’ll say it again NHL is becoming “Nazi Hockey League” & will soon start driving a lot of it’s fans away because of it!!