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Officials: Judge the Game, Don't Just Manage It |
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Follow Paul on Twitter: @paulstewart22
Tuning into the NHL games over the weekend, I heard a TV commentator use one of my least favorite terms used in conjunction with officiating: the notion of "game management." Actually, during the last 40-plus years, I have heard from many well-meaning people that it's important for officials to "manage" the game.
I firmly disagree. Officials shouldn't "manage games." They should judge them, applying feel and hockey sense. The criteria for making a call serve to penalize that which steps outside the boundaries of keeping the game fair and keeping it safe.
I want officials. If I wanted to hire managers, I'd hang a sign that said "Managers Wanted, Inquire Within. Must Have Skates."
Managers, well, manage. They compromise. They worry about the appearance of balancing the scales. Often, they wind up splitting the baby in half like the Biblical judgment by King Solomon; except that they actually go through with it to negative consequences rather than employing psychology to arrive at a correct and just decision in tough situations.
I want referees and linesmen who make decisive black-and-white rulings even when there is a lot of gray area in a tough situation. I want tough-minded arbiters who are quick on their feet and quick with their minds while showing calm under pressure.
The game also needs officials who can keep up with the physical rigors of the sport. Time waits for nobody. I dealt with it late in my own active officiating career. My body was breaking down on me and I had to be honest with myself that I could no longer keep up the way I used to. My mind was still sharp. The instincts and hockey sense were still there. But the ol' hips didn't lie and I needed to listen to my body.
At the NHL level, today's officials are, almost to a man, excellent athletes. But at lower levels, we have major problems with recruitment and retention. Over times, this filters upward. Across the sport as a whole, average age of active officials is getting older whereas the players moving up the ladder are getting younger.
Therein lies another point: Is every player a star? No. There are a select few stars, plenty of average ones and a percentage who are in over their heads for various reasons. Same thing with officials. We have too many games to assign with too few officials to cover them. You're not going to get the absolute cream of the crop for every game. It's sad but true. In the real world, we try to coach the average ones to become good ones and the bottom group to improve and become serviceable officials. That is balanced against a numbers game.
In all of my years of playing and then officiating, I can truthfully say that the really good officials have never been the "game manager" types. Game managers try to limit the damage. The good ones know how to judge, correctly and boldly.
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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.
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • 
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