Stay Out of the Game

If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ll know that I have a lot of problems with different things in sports. If I were commissioner of all sports for a day, life would be sweet. The issue that I’m about to talk about is pretty small, and you may think it doesn’t need to be talked about, but it still infuriates me every time I see it.

Every NHL referee does it, and every time, I just want to scream. It happens at least a dozen times a game, on nearly every faceoff, in all three zones. There’s no reason for the refs to do it, but for some reason, it’s just accepted.

Seriously, drop the (expletive) puck!

I honestly don’t understand it. Why do NHL referees feel the need to fake drop the puck? What does it accomplish for the game? Faceoffs are all about timing, being quick on the stick, and having great hand eye coordination. Centers aren’t supposed to be standing at the dot, thinking to themselves, “well this ref usually fakes the first two drops, so I’ll make sure not to get kicked out”.

 As long as both centers have their sticks in the proper spots, the ref needs to just drop the puck. That’s all we ask from him. Just drop the puck, in the center of the dot, and let the game continue. Some refs, however, feel that they need to be part of the game. Who knows, maybe they think its fun to try to fake-out the players, and maybe they enjoy kicking guys out of the faceoff circle.

All I know is that I can’t stand it, and I think the players hate it too. Referees are hired to officiate the game, not take part in it, and that’s why they need to stop trying to get involved. Just drop the puck; the only people who should be playing games are the guys carrying the sticks.