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Calgary, AB • Canada • 55 Years Old • Male
As a small time blogger, I often hear what is wrong with the League and what fans want to do fix it. What do you think was the biggest complaint I heard? Out of all the dangers in the League, people had the most problems is with the inconsistency of the refereeing.

The biggest problem that the fans are having with the refs how can one play earn a penalty one game and not the next? Here is the thing - have the refs lost their minds or do they have no idea what a penalty is? Are the guidelines too subjective? Does the NHL have to get more decisive on its rules?

So where does the problem start? Is it with the League, or are the Refs not seeing what a fan sees? When the refs mess up it really confuses the players. They need to know what a penalty is. How can the players play when they have no idea what is expected of them?

Another complaint is heard mostly from non-hockey fans. What do you think that was? The violence in the League. Too many incidents of players losing their minds. It's like aliens have taken over their bodies and they do something - well – something not very bright. They seem to think smacking other players over the head or biting or whatever thing they do is okay. The players have to start respecting each other.

If you or I did the what the players are pulling off in the workplace, we would be arrested. Can you imagine if I decided to walk to into my office and smack a fellow worker over the head with a stick? Or maybe kick him with a skate or - here is an idea - bite him? So maybe someone can explain it to me; why do some of these players think they can? Okay, that might be a little extreme, but you get my point, don't you? Those are the two biggest complaints on the Richter scale, I have heard many more.

I love this game, but seriously the League has to address these two issues. The referees have to get consistent. The League has to get some kind of message out or maybe motivate the players to play nice. Yes, that is right, maybe we need to take more than their supper away from them. Maybe I am being a bit facetious, but please, someone wake up and maybe give these players something to worry about.
Filed Under:   League   Complaints   NHL  
July 10, 2009 1:50 AM ET | Delete
OFFICIATING.. NOT ONLY THE FACT THIS IT WAS EXTREMELY INCONSISTENT TO THE POINT WHERE I COULDN'T WATCH A GAME WITHOUT GETTING AGGRAVATED, AND THE REFS WERE COMPLETELY INCOMPETENT (6 MEN ON THE ICE FOR 20 SECONDS), IT WAS BLATANTLY BIASED...
July 10, 2009 2:34 AM ET | Delete
"Pass" or "past"
July 10, 2009 4:38 AM ET | Delete
Inconsistent officiation, not just on ice, but also from Colin Campbell in terms of handing out suspensions and such.
July 10, 2009 5:48 AM ET | Delete
Officiating and supplemental discipline. There are no standards for either one. Maddeningly inconsistent. A lot of the cheap stuff (head shots etc) would disappear if the officials would do their jobs properly and the league removed the instigator rule. Perfect example: Dan Carcillo gets tossed and suspended where Cammalleri gets nothing for the exact same play with clearer intent. Just awful.
July 10, 2009 8:24 AM ET | Delete
Lack of consistency and lack of marketing the entire league.
July 10, 2009 10:24 AM ET | Delete
Thanks Wilson I fixed the title.
July 10, 2009 10:24 AM ET | Delete
July 10, 2009 10:37 AM ET | Delete
NHL reffing and the decisions made in Campbells office have proven nothing short of a steaming pile of you know what for the past couple of years. I'm hardly surprised any more with the bad calls/decisions made on or off the ice. It's truly become a gong show.
July 10, 2009 10:49 AM ET | Delete
biggest problem besides officiating, was the shoving of Cindy Crosby and Pittsburgh on NBC every Sunday. When will NBC realize that there are other stars out there besides cindy
July 10, 2009 11:25 AM ET | Delete
ref's and betman
July 10, 2009 11:25 AM ET | Delete
Message Posted
rei
July 10, 2009 11:29 AM ET | Delete
Because the refs have never been a problem before.Im surprised no one has mentioned Fraser yet.
July 10, 2009 11:36 AM ET | Delete
The completely unpredictable and inconsistant handing out of suspensions is easily near the top. The league looks like a joke every time a serious incident occurs. It's like a roulette table...will he get 20 games...or 3?! Stay tuned! (That, and Keenan switching line combinations 17 times a game.)
July 10, 2009 11:53 AM ET | Delete
July 10, 2009 12:01 PM ET | Delete
Campbell's inconsistent use of suspensions was the worst. I thought the league lost my respect when they removed the automatic 1-game suspension for Malkin. Any other player (aside from Sid or Ovie) would have been suspended with a "It's the rule" answer as to why. The game and the rules have to be more important than a player, regardless of how many goals he scores.
July 10, 2009 3:40 PM ET | Delete
My Sharks winning the president's trophy and then tanking in the playoffs. Choke! Other than that, everything else seems minor....
July 10, 2009 5:11 PM ET | Delete
Bring back the days of prison rules hockey. At least it was consistent then.
July 11, 2009 3:09 AM ET | Delete
July 11, 2009 6:50 PM ET | Delete
What do I hate? I still hate the Reebok uniforms generally. Bring back horizontal striping - and, above all, get rid of the baseball-style hem along the bottom. Brutal.
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