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Whenever major changes get made, whether it's in life or in hockey, there are often unintended side effects. Such was the case when the National Hockey League opened up the game by eliminating the red line.
There has been much discussion in the last couple years on whether this has been a contributing factor to the increase in concussions resulting from high-speed collisions. Bobby Orr is among those who believes the red line should be brought back for safety reasons, even it results in more stoppages of play and clogging of the ice. It's an interesting debate, and I will weigh in on it at length in an upcoming blog.
For today, however, I want to discuss one of the often-overlooked side effects of the elimination of the red line: It turned the two-referee system into a necessity for officiating games properly.
During my active refereeing career, the illegality of two-line passes made it much easier for the referee to use the red line as a catch-up point to hustle back in the other direction when there was a quick transition play. Once the red line was taken out and the speed of the game increased, it became unrealistic for one referee to effectively patrol the entire ice surface.
Simply put, no human being skates that fast. Hell, even if we could have made Dan Jansen and Eric Heiden into NHL referees, it still would not have been possible to make up those long distances in quick enough time such as when there is a stretch pass from the defensive hash marks to the attacking blue line. The second referee is needed up the ice.
In last Saturday's game in Columbus, veteran referee Dan O'Rourke suffered a nasty injury in the first period. He got caught up in a collision behind the net and one of the player's skates accidentally came up and cut O'Rourke in the chest. He was unable to continue working the game.
Video from NHL.com
After O'Rourke left the game, partner referee Darcy Burchell -- a young ref who is still basically an NHL rookie -- ended up working the game solo. He adjusted his positioning as much as possible, and stepped up his communication with linesmen Darren Gibbs and Bryan Pancich. Under the tough circumstances, I thought the officiating team did a very good job that night and deserved to be commended.
However, in today's game, I think the League should implement a different protocol for handling situations where one referee gets injured. Rather than having Burchell work with two linesmen, I think that senior linesman Gibbs, who has been in the League since 1997 and is creeping up on the coveted 1,000-game mark, should have served as the second referee with Pancich working the lines.
I am a believer in referees and linesmen being able to switch roles when necessary. During my own officiating career, I filled in for injured linesmen on an emergency basis more than once -- including in a 1997 Stanley Cup playoff game between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia when Wayne Bonney suffered a leg injury in the second period.
Likewise, a linesmen should be able to function as a "referee-in-training" when an extra set of legs and eyes are needed. The situation in Columbus last Saturday was a perfect case in point. Gibbs is capable of being a referee in a pinch, and it would have been more beneficial to the flow of the game (apart from making the night a little easier on Burchell) if the protocol had been to function as a two-ref, one-linesman team after O'Rourke was lost for the game.
Have a good weekend, everyone. I'll be back on Monday.
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Recent Blogs by Paul Stewart
A Christmas Blog
Romeo and that Fox-y Glow
On Wilson, Kamikaze Attacks and Red Herrings
Working With Injury
Coach Accountability and the Engelland Incident
Linesman Appreciation Day: From Thor to Bob's Big Boy to 42nd St. Cops
NHL Officials: Americans Still Have a Hard Time Being Hired
Crisp Thoughts
Olympic Officials: Jeux San Frontieres?
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Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the only American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart is an officiating and league discipline consultant for the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) and serves as director of hockey officiating for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC).
The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials, while also maintaining a busy schedule as a public speaker, fund raiser and master-of-ceremonies for a host of private, corporate and public events. As a non-hockey venture, he is the owner of Lest We Forget.
Stewart is currently working with a co-author on an autobiography.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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