Question of the Week: Changing of the guard at Club Two-Minutes

by John Fontana on Jun 9, 2011 1:24 PM EDT in National Hockey League

After a hiatus due to the Tampa Bay Lightning's involvement in the 2011 NHL playoffs, our "Question of the Week column marks its return with a league-news inspired query.

If you're like me, or any number of NHL fans, you have not been thrilled with former National Hockey League head disciplinarian - Colin Campbell -- nor his minions who officiate on ice with the same amount of consistency as Campbell (none at all). The 2011 NHL playoffs further emphasized the league's inability to stand up and enforce rules and regulations on ice and off.

Brendan Shanahan is taking over for Colin Campbell as the head-cheese of discipline for the NHL. What does Shanahan and the league need to change with rule enforcement and discipline? What would greatly improve things?

Shanahan takes over the gig officially after the Stanley Cup playoffs, he has his work cut out for him... Here are some of Raw Charge's thoughts:

Clark Brooks

All anybody wants is consistency and impartiality. If the punishment for A is B today, it should be that way all the time. It seems like that would be the easy part. As a former player who retired fairly recently, Shanahan may face scrutiny from those watching to see if he plays favorites. The reason major sports leagues seem to be tougher on gambling than drugs is that gambling has a direct and immediate impact on the integrity of the games played. Because once a league loses that integrity, it's finished. While I don't believe Campbell was in any way corrupt, he put himself in positions that allowed people to ask tough questions. Shanahan, or anybody else in a position to have a direct impact on the outcome of games played, has got to avoid that by establishing and maintaining integrity. Of course, being consistent will go a long way towards squashing those difficult questions before anybody even has a chance to ask them.

Matt Amos

The thing the league needs to do first and foremost (aside from the headshot ban, I'm assuming everyone is calling for that), is to start holding the referees and officials more accountable for missed calls. At every level. There's no consequence to the refs for missed calls, make up calls, and the like. If the offices of the NHL demand more accountability out of the refs, a snowball effect can happen. Accountability from them on ice likely would lead to less frustration from the players, which could lead to calmer heads all around.

Dani Toth

Consistency would be key. Anyone who follows hockey knows their consistency in the type of suspensions and whether a player gets one or not is akin to that of spinning a wheel on that website that was created. So application of a standard discipline for similar actions would be something I'd like to see. The change in who doles out the supplemental discipline should be able to bring forth with them a new strategy in how discipline is handed out.

Cassie McClellan

What needs to change and what would greatly improve things is to codify and publish the rules on supplementary discipline, and then enforce all of the rules consistently. Consistency is really the biggest issue with the rules at this point. Basically, just about anything goes - particularly if you're a star player.

The so-called "Wheel of Justice" is humorous, certainly, but there's definitely some truth to it. Rule enforcement is so inconsistent that no one knows what the penalty will actually be if someone does something wrong. Not only is it a farce, but it's also gone so far as to become a game within the game. People are taking side bets on who will get what for breaking the rules - which should tell you everything you need to know about rule enforcement at this time.

And that's a physical danger to not only the players, but the referees and linesmen as well. If it's okay to hit someone in the head, then it's okay to hit an on-ice official...right? How long can a game be played and still have its integrity intact if no one's calling penalties by the rules? This is why I've referred to the NHL a number of times as the banana republic of North American sports. It's hard to take a sport seriously when it can't take its own rules seriously.

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Comments

I think what Shanny has to do next season is set a precident…on the first questionable incident he needs to make a hard, but fair ruling that shows that discipline will be taken seriously and that it will be ironclad…for every player and team

"Don't look now, but there's one too many people in this room and I think it's you." Groucho Marx

In Prust We Trust

"Kovalev would work with Tortorella like a kitty would work in a microwave.

A lot of smoke and desperate clawing at the door. It wouldn’t work. It would just be a big, hot mess." -Dig Deep

Follow me @8kpower

by Kevin Power on Jun 9, 2011 1:37 PM EDT via mobile reply actions

He has to go beyond suspensions though. He has to set a precedent with on-ice officials.

Last time there was a public accountability by the league for a ref screwing up a call was in 1995 (someone got fined for a serious flub during A New York Rangers / Quebec Nordiques game)

Typing is an adventure, and reading should be, too!
Raw Charge.

by John Fontana on Jun 9, 2011 2:38 PM EDT up reply actions

I thought, but may be mistaken, that Shanahan will not be in charge of officiating, only supplementary discipline. Since I can’t now find where I read that, I’m no longer sure. Am I wrong?

Goaleez R weerd.

by CAustin on Jun 9, 2011 4:19 PM EDT up reply actions

You may be right. I can’t say you’re wrong.

I just think the issue, where it begins, is on ice with the NHL. Refs and linesmen in this league are part of the catalyst for trouble that leads to needs for player discipline.

Typing is an adventure, and reading should be, too!
Raw Charge.

by John Fontana on Jun 9, 2011 8:05 PM EDT up reply actions

Agreed. The whole business has to be consistent, top to bottom.

Goaleez R weerd.

by CAustin on Jun 9, 2011 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions

Has to set a tone for the new disciplinary standards the league will have. The most important part of officiating is consistency and fairness.

@DigDeepNYR
"I like a man who grins when he fights." -Sir Winston Churchill
"It's just pain." -Brandon Prust | "In Prust we Trust."

Blueshirt Banter

by Dig Deep on Jun 10, 2011 4:38 PM EDT up reply actions

You all said it

The key to a better game for the players, fans, and the league is consistency.

From night to night, no one knows whether a nudge here behind the play will be called for interference or not. That’s perhaps oversimplification of the issue, but the point is still the same.

Same goes for the supplementary discipline. When the league hands out supplementary discipline, it should not—dare I say cannot—seem as if it’s a random act orchestrated by Pat Sajak and Vanna White.

There will be some hiccups as the vanguard for supplementary discipline changes from the intermediate to the long-term (Shanahan), but I have high hopes for Shanny and his sense of right and wrong.

"[The Lightning] are uncanny. When they want to get a goal, it's like they just snap their fingers or hit a button. They just dial it up. You can see it. It's like they flip a switch. When they are down, it's just like they think, 'we know we are going to score.' I don't know what it is, it leaves [the opposition] flabbergasted." - Mike Knuble, 3 May 2011

by MTBoltFan on Jun 9, 2011 2:58 PM EDT reply actions

Can't stop laughing at that Wheel of Justice website.

“We also took into consideration that Greg Campbell is Colin Campbell’s son”.
“We also took into consideration that Todd Bertuzzi previously nearly killed Steve Moore”.

you're not defending him are you?
are you his mom?

by toppleprone on Jun 7, 2011 9:43 PM EDT

by SnipeShot on Jun 9, 2011 9:47 PM EDT up reply actions

I agree that consistency

is one of the biggest changes that should be made

If something is a penalty in the 1st period then it should be a penalty in the 3rd period or 4th OT
If it’s a penalty in the regular season or game 1 then it should be a penalty in game 7 of the SCF
If it is a penalty to player A then it should be a penalty of player B regardless of whether the ref thinks player B often embellishes or dives

the also need to be held accountable for the calls they make or don’t make – I get that there are a lot of cases where things happen behind the play and they aren’t seen, but maybe that needs to be changed also, maybe there needs to be someone specifically watching behind the play as there is a lot of dirty stuff that happens behind the play – probably because it is almost never caught

by BW79 on Jun 11, 2011 2:53 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

Yep.

Rec’d.

by MTBoltFan on Jun 11, 2011 8:58 PM EDT up reply actions

this has nothing to do with the story but...

can you guys keep us updated on the renovations being done to the forum? maybe putting up pics and stuff? idk how they are going to get all that done by october.

by TomK91 on Jun 9, 2011 3:45 PM EDT reply actions

We want to keep people updated on that the best we can; not sure if that’ll include pictures or not, tho.

Win or lose, I'm proud of these guys.
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning community. Follow me on Twitter: @dagmar27.

by Cassie McClellan on Jun 9, 2011 10:08 PM EDT up reply actions

I live locally..

So, it has been some what of a common topic in the news.. haven’t heard anything new since day after season ended though. Expect to hear something in the near future, I’d imagine. If i hear or see anything of interest, I’ll be sure to post it on here.. If it hasn’t been already.

So... if that was just the beginning? Can't friggin' wait to see what's next!! A HUGE Thank You to Mr. Vinik, Steve Yzerman, Guy Boucher & the whole damn Lightning team/organization!! 100% Continued support and respect.

by Let's JOE WINGS-BOLTS on Jun 10, 2011 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions

I actually had a story to run about that, but someone witht he team did not get back to me.

Renovations did start, but it’s out-of-the-way locations that have been ripped apart, from what I understand. The kitchen.

Typing is an adventure, and reading should be, too!
Raw Charge.

by John Fontana on Jun 10, 2011 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions

My thoughts from a previous post on the Rome suspension..

(not OT this time, haha)

I agree with the amount of games he recieved..You’ve got to believe that if Rome came back at any point in this series.. it would have turned into a head-hunting blood bath, even more than it has been after the whole finger biting deal.

However, the main problem I have is with Mike Murphy’s explanation of the hit and end result. How can we ever have any type of consistancy, if the player being injured, severly or not, plays into how severe the punishment is. This just leaves way too much open room to speculation and could force more players to dive or embellish the injury, in hopes for a harsher punishment/penalty. Even though this is most likely the least damaging issue that can come from such a inconsistent result… it still hurts the game, none the less.

If the league has a formula for determining late hits or any violation of rule 48, why don’t they share it with the players, league and fans?? Correct me if I’m wrong, but this is the first time that i can think of, where someone from the NHL came out in person and explained what went into the decision. Not to mention the first time I’ve heard anything about said "formula"

Remember the ol’ saying.. "you can only go up, from the bottom" and I’m sure with Shanny taking over things, this will hopefully be the new trend. How much worse can it get? Good thing we’ll hopefully never have to find out.

Bottom line… the decision on supplemental discipline needs to be made from the incident and that alone. Some players may be better at taking a dirty hit or happen to be out at a different point in their shift, leaving them more vulnerable to get injured from a dirty hit. Again, just way too many factors that play into an injury and it the fact it usually happens in a split second. Just because a player isn’t injured on a play, does not make it any less dirty or illegal.

(I posted it a bit late last time and it fits this topic much better, anyways. By the way, great post and quotes from everyone! You all hit the nail(elbow) on the head!)

by Let's JOE WINGS-BOLTS on Jun 10, 2011 2:31 PM EDT reply actions

When Ruutu laid out Erat in Round 1

the league talked then about the “formula” for late hits, and it was something arbitrary like “0.4 seconds” after the puck is passed. Not very helpful IMO (who counts like that while playing?), but it kinda sorta was out there if you paid really really really close attention to everything. Nothing like what needs to be done to make it clear what’s late and what isn’t. (Ruutu got 1 game for that one.)

The real problem is that even when they do state a policy, they don’t stick to it, either on the ice or when reviewing for supplemental discipline.

And also, I know I’m not the first to say this, but basing the punishment on the perceived severity of the injury give players and teams a huge incentive to “embellish”/play to the media.

Goaleez R weerd.

by CAustin on Jun 11, 2011 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions

Three Days

I heard rumors that Brett Connolly was signed to an entry level contract, still for three days I’ve come here and I see that same face (pedophile-esque look).

I don’t want to see that face anymore :(
I’d make a fanpost but im not even sure if this is true or the details there of.

If #26 doesn't get retired. I'm switching teams.

by Killhowe on Jun 12, 2011 3:49 PM EDT reply actions

According to Bolts Prospects, the deal’s not finished quite yet. Probably won’t be anything here until the team makes the formal announcement.

by MTBoltFan on Jun 12, 2011 5:34 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s not supposed to be officially announced until July. We don’t report rumors, only facts whenever possible. Sorry about that.

Win or lose, I'm proud of these guys.
Raw Charge, an SBN Tampa Bay Lightning community. Follow me on Twitter: @dagmar27.

by Cassie McClellan on Jun 12, 2011 8:20 PM EDT up reply actions

There are several things we’ve planned to post, things have not gone right for some of us personally the past few days… nd that’s effected getting stories up in a timely manner. I know we coudl have certainly put up a fanshot and pushed that (this) post down a little more…

Typing is an adventure, and reading should be, too!
Raw Charge.

by John Fontana on Jun 12, 2011 8:26 PM EDT up reply actions