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A HockeyBuzz reader asked me recently whether I think there are too many penalty shots being called in the National Hockey League this season. He also asked if there is a directive from the League to call more of them "to drum up excitement" during the regular season.
The answer to the first question is no. I think penalty shots should be called according to the rulebook criteria. The rulebook is the referee's ally here.
When calling a penalty shot, the official should be confident and decisive in making the ruling. It's when the guy is hesitant to call what he sees -- when he's afraid of how the benches or a supervisor will react, and you can virtually see the wheels turning in his head on whether to call a minor penalty or a penalty shot -- that he looks bad.
There are five criteria for a penalty shot to be called on a breakaway scenario:
1) The attacking player is fouled from behind.
2) The attacker is past the red line (not the blue line).
3) The attacker has passed everyone on the defending team except the goalie.
4) The attacker has possession and control of the puck at the time he's fouled.
5) The attacker loses a reasonable scoring chance as a result of the foul.
If these five circumstances are all in place, the penalty shot ruling MUST be made. It doesn't matter what the score of the game is, what period it happens or anything else.
Be bold and make the right call. If a penalty shot is warranted, calling a minor penalty instead of the proper call is a cop-out. In a supervising capacity, I would not look favorably on it.
During my active officiating career, I was never afraid to call a penalty shot when the rules dictated it. I called more than any other referee in the NHL over the course of my career. One season, there were 34 total penalty shots called in the League. I called 18 of them.
Story time: One time when I was working in the AHL, I officiated a game in Hershey in which I called two penalty shots on the same play as a result of infractions by defenseman Kevin McCarthy.
What happened was that Kato hooked the attacking forward at the blueline. The opposing player, the puck and Kevin slid all into the goalie, and the puck was lying flat in the crease short of the goal line. Kato covered the puck with his hand and then threw it in a corner.
Two different acts dictating penalty shots; hence, two penalty shots.
A confused Hershey Bears general manager Frank Mathers called me on the phone during the time I was at the box explaining it to the scorer, wanting a personal explanation. I gave Frank the courtesy. I thought he was going to fall out of the press box!
The rules stipulates that covering the puck in the crease is a penalty shot. An opponent was going to play the puck and likely score a goal but McCarthy reached out and grabbed it, gaining posession as he did not have a stick. The criteria here:
1) Covering the puck with his hand, McCarthy caused a stoppage, and
2) With a closed hand, the defensemen threw it from inside the crease.
Either one of these actions satisfied the rule for a penalty shot. Had he batted it or pushed it, no problem, but the stoppage happened when he covered it with his hand. I had to enforce that rule and I already had a call for the original hook; mugging the opposing player in the slot.
Incidentally, the player missed the first penalty shot and scored on the second.
The correct calls were made. The next day, no one could contradict my decision by rule.
Mr. Mathers was a gracious, humble and caring human being. He passed away at age 80 nine years ago come early February, and he is still missed. After the game in which I called the two penalty shots, Frank simply nodded when I explained it further and walked away with no complaint.
Kevin McCarthy and I laughed about it years later when Kato was coaching.
I'd skate near the bench and announce, "Tell 'em about the two penalty shots, Kevin!"
Many years later, when I was in my final season as an NHL referee (2002-03), I was refereeing a Rangers-Predators game in Madison Square Garden. After the pregame warmup skate, in the runway near the Rangers dressing room, I exchanged pleasantries and small talk with Pavel Bure.
"Hey, Stewy, I need ask you question," Pavel said in his distinctive Russian accent.
"Go right ahead," I said.
"OK, I'm in League 12 years. You never give me penalty shot -- not one! Everyone else; penalty shot here, penalty shot there. For me, never one penalty shot. Why not?"
He was smiling as he said it. We both had a laugh.
At the 4:25 mark of the still-scoreless first period, the Rangers had a power play. A scramble ensued around the goal mouth and Nashville defensemen Bill Houlder covered the puck in the Preds' crease. The rules dictated a penalty shot, and I called it.
Whom did Rangers coach Bryan Trottier select to take the penalty shot against Tomas Vokoun? You guessed it. He picked the Russian Rocket himself.
Skating between the red line and the goal mouth, Bure switched from his forehand to his backhand and back again no less than 11 times. The puck started rolling on him from the blueline in (the MSG ice has never been very good) and he was not able to settle it until the last moment.
Displaying the hands that made him one of the best pure goal scorers the game has ever had, Bure pulled off one last backhand-to-forehand move as Vokoun committed himself and slid the puck home just inside the right post.
It was an electrifying goal that left even the Predators in awe. After celebrating with his teammates, Pavel subtly looked at me and grinned. It was all I could do to avoid doubling over in laughter -- or applauding the incredible display of skill.
It was the fates of serendipity and the hockey gods -- not yours truly -- that created that penalty shot opportunity. By the way, Bure converted six of 10 penalty shot opportunities in his Hall of Fame career. Choosing Bure as the shooter was no doubt one of the easiest decisions Trottier ever had to make in his life.
Getting back to the original premise of today's blog, I don't know if the NHL issued a directive this season for referees to be more vigilant in calling penalty shots when merited. If they did. it was one of their better directives, because the call needs to be made when the circumstances dictate it.
Thus far in the 2013-14 NHL season, there have been 45 penalty shots called. The most recent one was last night, when Buffalo rookie Zemgus Girgensons was unable to convert an attempt against Toronto goalie James Reimer. The Leafs went on to win via shootout.
In terms of statistical data tracking, here is the year-by-year League-wide breakdown of NHL penalty shot calls since the wiped-out 2004-05 lockout season:
2005-06: 103 penalty shots
2006-07: 70 penalty shots
2007-08: 64 penalty shots
2008-09: 59 penalty shots
2009-10: 55 penalty shots
2010-11: 78 penalty shots
2011-12: 69 penalty shots
2012-13: 34 penalty shots (lockout-shortened season; 48 games per team)
Hockey is hockey, although there will be a slight variance from season to season. Based upon the data there is pretty good reason believe that the NHL did want its officials this season to be more stringent about calling penalty shots.
Do I have problem with that? Not a bit. I have plenty of issues with the way the NHL powers-that-be direct their officials, but having penalty shot rules applied per the rulebook is not one of them so long as it's done correctly.
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Recent Blogs by Paul Stewart
Slew Footing, Match Penalties and Aggressors
Making Friends in Bratislava
The Miracle Before the Miracle
Selling the Call: My Issues with the NHL Replay System
Good Morning, Montreal! Know of a Good Dry Cleaner?
Lion Tamers, Staged Fights and Bissonnette
Gettin' Your Kicks
Hockey in the Great Outdoors
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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 first 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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