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The prime objective for every official to make the right call. However, sometimes, getting it right can also mean long delays that ruin the flow of play. The quest for perfection can also take away what was always an aspect of the game: the humanity of the officials.

Coaches are human and sometimes coach badly. Even the very best sometimes push the wrong buttons. General managers manage and look at the salaries and some of the stiffs they sign to the contracts and they are getting paid humongous salaries and for what? Players come some nights and mail it in. Even a superstar player on average night will probably make a few small mistakes (a needless icing here, a bobbled pass there) over the course of, say, 20 minutes of ice time.

We know this and accept it. Yet a lot of folks Are referees and linesmen not human, too?

One of the aspects of the game that is being lost is the personality. The cry for consistency at all costs is the hockey equivalent of McDonald's. Every cheeseburger and fries with a Coke is exactly the same in Dorchester as it is in Des Moines or Denver.

If that's the way the game is heading -- complete with more officials huddles about penalty calls and a "coach's challenge" of calls -- so be it. We need well defined standards of what is and isn't subject to review. There also needs to be a consequence -- such as as a delay of game bench minor -- for a failed challenge.

In the KHL, they use a walkie talkie system and the refs don't have to huddle, they can chat while the game is going on. Makes me wonder sometimes if there isn't a fifth voice, an eye in the sky, telling them they missed a penalty.

I swear, I have seen arms go up 20 to 30 seconds after a player goes down -- and not one official saw the hit or the dive when it happened. Drives me insane.

Like Patton said, "Why did you ask me to command if you won't let me command?"

I say, why have refs if you don't trust their judgement?

Solution: Coach them, make certain they are in shape and allow for some error. It's a game played and coached by humans, watched by humans. So why can't the officials be human, too? Why is that such a tough concept for folks to grasp?

After all, as officials, our margin for error is pretty small. It is a hell of lot smaller than what some scouts and GM's have, those that find and then sign some of the stiffs you pay to watch play the game.

But what do I know? I was just a goon-turned-ref. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone said to me.."You played Pro? You went to Groton? You went to Penn? How'd YOU (of all people) ever get to be a ref?"

I think I got to be a ref because I placed the game above everything else in my life and I paid my dues. The playing career, The Groton and The Penn parts of my life, they were other goals that I accomplished which gave me then the chance to develop into the person who could referee and do it with pride at whatever level I worked.

I tell people it takes toughness and intelligence. Those two aspects of a personality don't always get paired in a sentence together.

Somehow, I just don't think I could referee nowadays with the way the game is going (hey, who is the wiseguy who cued the "Hallelujah Chorus"?!). The direction we're moving takes the personal pride out of the job and likely the fun. This is a job, a job that few can or could do well.

More and more, though, it seems that the main qualifications being sought by the lords of the game are a willingness to take abuse and the ability to use a walkie talkie.

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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 ECAC.

The longtime referee heads Officiating by Stewart, a consulting, training and evaluation service for officials. Stewart also maintains 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.

In addition to his blogs for HockeyBuzz every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, Stewart writes a hockey column every Wednesday for the Huffington Post.