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I don't care what country, what League or what level the game, there are two main issues at this time of the year: 1) Coaches of teams either out of the playoff race or already comfortably ensconced in playoff position have to keep their players showing up ready to compete and play at 100 percent, and 2) officiating is hyper-scrutinized more than at any other time of the season.
All year long, I have supervisors, scouts and other officials giving me plenty of reports and snippets of information. The information is appreciated and is part of doing my job properly.
I treat each case on an individual basis. However, if an official's name keeps showing up with negative tags or his face keeps showing up in video or, at the start of the week, coaches constantly call me about this person or that, then I know we have issues to deal with.
Coaches tell me all the time that they should have a say in rating officials. I am not in favor of that, and here's why. During games, coaches give 99.5 percent of their fcous to their players, line changes and bench. Their judgments of officials inevitably are focused on a snapshot of a single play or two in a game.
Perhaps coaches can relate to it this way: Fans and media members far too often judge players based on very limited knowledge and information. Did he score a goal tonight? Then he had a "good" game. Did this defenseman -- who was very solid on his other 23 shifts -- turn over a puck that ended up in the net? Then he had a "lousy" game. Does Joe Schmo have a good Boutique Stat du Jour compared to some other guy who gets more ice time? Then the coach is clearly mishandling his personnel.
Really, it's not all that different with assessing and coaching officials. Yes, he may have missed this or that key call in a given game. Maybe he had several issues during the game in question. Maybe he should have communicated something better.
Understood, and thank you for bringing it to my attention. I will look at what happened and handle it appropriately.
Now I've got a question for you, and I want you to be honest: On a game-in, game-out basis, how qualified are YOU to assess his positioning and skating? Do you observe the official in enough depth to determine his conditioning and stamina? His hockey sense? His communication skills?
Trust me, if there are genuine problems in these areas, they will become obvious to me. These are areas I assess each and every day when I watch officials at work. First area I look at is positioning, then skating, then conditioning, then sightlines. Finally, I look at the official and try to decide if they are having an off-night or if they are a two-ounce glass and I tried to pour in three ounces.
How do things get handled when there are issues? Sometimes, we will have a chat, or we make a move to coach the person, sometimes we move them away from that team or rink. Sometimes we sit them down, sometimes we send them home.
Here's the thing: well-run leagues handle these things internally. They don't announce actions to the press or hang dirty laundry on the line for all to see. Good managers don't bury people in public. The best coaches handle things behind the scenes.
No one sits at their TV, at their computer viewing video or in the stands watching games and swallows any harder than me when one of my team makes a glaring error. I especially hate it when a player takes a dive or embellishes and makes my people look foolish because they bought into it. At those time, I want to go and ring the player and the coach and the GMs necks.
Don't give me that "embellishment is the only way to get a call half the time" crap. Coach your players to play the game the right way, keep their feet moving and outnumber the opposition and you will force the opposing team into penalties. We're not out here to do you favors. Earn your power plays. Condone diving and other forms of cheating by some your players, tacitly or explicitly, and those guys will play the whole damn game on your knees because they've cried wolf too many times.
That's why it bugs the hell out of me when refs get fooled by the embellishers and the cheaters get what they want. During my own officiating career, a player might fool me once with a dive. He didn't get away with it a second time. Players knew that I wouldn't put up with that garbage, so few of them did it.
In the bigger picture, I will not dispute that we need more, better, younger, fitter, smarter people who can take a challenge and understand their role as officials. So, once again, I will put out a challenge.
For all you heroes that coulda, woulda, shoulda been stars as players but you hurt your knee, or the coach didn't like you or someone stole your equipment out of your car or any other of those bogus excuses that you have been telling people all these years, come on out and put it on the line.
Hey, you officiating experts in the stands and pressbox, can YOU pass a rule book test? Could you hack it in an officiating seminar? I cordially invite you to find out. Just fill out a 3X5 index card with everything you know about officiating from your vast experience. Then turn in the blank card along with your registration fee and learn what it's like to work your way up from scratch.
Hey, folks. Give it a shot. It's better than Vegas or Foxwoods, and then we will all know if you have what it takes. See you at our skate in June.
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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 the chairman of the officiating and discipline committee 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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