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A million years ago during my collegiate playing days at the University of Pennsylvania, we had a game at Cornell. The bench door swung up just as I was bumped on an otherwise harmless play. It did some damage. The trainer must have just gotten back from a fishing trip because the 20-plus stitches I took were sewn in with fishing line rather than medical sutures.

Oh, well. What's one more scar among the collection I've assembled over the years? During my minor league playing and officiating days, I also saw buildings where the bench doors were prone to opening at inopportune times, claiming victims on both teams. It's just an occupational hazard.

On Tuesday night, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta passed the puck to his partner. Moments later, he was off-balance and got pushed from behind by Minnesota Wild forward Nino Niederreiter at the worst possible moment and wound up having to be hospitalized after an awkward and painful crash after the door opened.



Yesterday, the NHL announced that there would be no supplementary discipline for Niederreiter. It was the right decision, in my opinion. I did not see anything reckless or deliberate about what happened on the play. I know Niederreiter is now Public Enemy Number One in Pittsburgh. I know that jargon-master Regis Maguire prattled on about "full extension" on what was really a nothing push that happens a dozen times a game when players disengage.

If the bench door had not opened at an inopportune time -- and it is far-fetched to accuse anyone on Minnesota of doing it deliberately, especially with players returning to the bench -- Maatta probably would have been unharmed or at least not injured nearly as severely as he was. It was just a bad outcome on what otherwise was something pretty routine.

That said, there was one thing about the play that I didn't like: the puck was long gone by the time Niederreiter pushed his opponent. There was no hockey-related benefit to his team to do it. All that Niederreiter could have "accomplished" was to earn himself a minor penalty over something needless.

I didn't really see this as a boarding play, but perhaps it could have deemed a boarding minor depending on the referee's positioning and interpretation. Maybe it could have been called roughing, maybe a ref would decide to rule that the puck was gone long enough to make it interference. Pick the nomenclature.

Maybe (as actually happened) the officials decide to just keep play going. Point is: Niederreiter wasn't helping his team and the shove was gratuitous.

It was not, however, reckless or dirty. A reckless hit is one in which, while there may not be a specific intent to injure, there is still significant potential for injury. In this case, the shove was not violent, not reckless, not a charge, etc. It was a debateable minor penalty. No more and no less.

I hope Maatta recovers fully quickly and gets back in his team's lineup soon. However, I'd have had a hard time justifying supplemental discipline if I were the one reviewing the incident. So this is one of those cases where the NHL Department of Player Safety are on the same page.

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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.

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.