Happy December everyone. I've always loved the holiday season, and what says heartwarming yuletide spirit more than a discussion of stick slashing penalties in hockey?
NHL Rule 61.1 is one of the more misunderstood and misapplied rules in the book as pertains to slashing-the-stick violations. That is not only the case in the NHL and AHL, by the way, it is the same over here in Europe in the KHL as well as hockey at the collegiate, junior and other levels.
This is a rule that, as written, affords the officials some power to use their own judgment; which, I might add, makes it part of an increasingly endangered category of hockey rules. Here is the key phrasing of the rule, with bolded emphasis added:
Any forceful or powerful chop with the stick on an opponent’s body, the opponent’s stick, or on or near the opponent’s hands that, in the judgment of the Referee, is not an attempt to play the puck, shall be penalized as slashing.
There has been an uptick in such calls in the NHL the last couple of years in general, but especially this season. No doubt due to pressure from the League, the discretionary parts of the rule -- 1) to determine if there was a legitimate attempt by the defender to play the puck and 2) to judge whether the slash was forceful enough to significantly impede the attacking player's efforts to carry the puck -- have gradually given way to making this rule something much closer to an automatic penalty.
As a discretionary infraction observed by an official, the slashing-the-stick infraction is a legitimate call. As a semi-automatic "cookie cutter" call, especially in situations where a player loses his stick or a stick breaks, it leads to some pretty cheap penalties.
I have seen a few too many situations in the NHL where a defender legitimately tries to play the puck and still ends up in the penalty box. The judgment part of the ruling got cast aside because his stick happened to make glancing contact with the attacker's stick.
Something else this has produced: ever-increasing embellishment by players fishing for a penalty call. The same player who shrugged off much harder chops and hooking attempts when he sniffed out a scoring chance around the net two shifts earlier suddenly gets butterfingers when the slightest contact is made with his stick along the walls. The stick goes flying out of his hands, and the player immediately looks at the referee to see if his arm is going up for a penalty.
There are many players around the NHL who are guilty of this sort of embellishment. Two such players of star caliber who embellish stick slashes when no scoring chance is involved are Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin and Philadelphia's Claude Giroux.
During my own active refereeing career, if I spotted a player doing the butterfingers act on a stick slash that was barely forceful enough to swat a fly, I would have given the player a two-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. I had no time or patience for that sort of nonsense.
By the way, in situations where the referee doesn't bite on the marginal stick slash or similar penalties that have come to be expected as near "entitlements", there is also a preponderance of current players who can't just glad play continued without being penalized themselves for unsportsmanlike conduct. There are guys who show the official up with that palms up "Where's the penalty?" gesture or sarcastically wave their hand and shake their heads.
During my own refereeing career, I let it be known to players that they could have their say within reason but they'd better not show me or my fellow officials up with histrionics. When someone waved sarcastically at me, I would skate over and say "Are you waving goodbye? Alright, then. Goodbye!"
Then I'd give him a 10-minute misconduct as a special parting gift. 'Tis the season of good will and gift giving, after all.
There are also many, many situations, of course, where the defending player is guilty as charged of a stick slash where no effort was made to play the puck and the chop was pretty forceful. The use of this illegal tactic increased for two reasons, in my estimation.
First of all, it was a tactical reaction by defenders (with tacit approval from their coaches) to the increase on holding-the-stick penalties. Instead of holding, they started slashing more in the hopes of getting away without a call. A quick stick slash can sometimes be executed a little more subtly than blatantly grabbing hold of the attacking player's stick.
Another reason for more stick slashing: loss of fear of instant repercussions. In the old-time hockey realm there was something called the "Gordie Howe Tattoo". If a defender unwisely chopped down at the attacker's stick, they'd step into Gordie's tattoo parlor, where a quick elbow or swat with the hand was guaranteed to hurt and leave a mark.
As Mr. Hockey himself used to say, he played Biblical Hockey, where it was better to give than to receive.
I experienced some of Gordie's gift-giving generosity when I played against him in the WHA. He was nearing the end of his brilliant career and I was an opposing rookie in awe of one of the game's greatest legends. We were standing in the faceoff circle, lined up against one another.
"Mr. Howe," I said. "I just want you to know how much I've always admired you. I even named my dog after you."
He glanced at me. As the puck dropped, I was on the receiving end of an elbow that nearly re-arranged my face.
Next time I saw him, I said, "I'm gonna go home and strangle that dog!"
Gordie grinned. "Welcome to the pros, kid."
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Recent Blogs by Paul Stewart
A Slap Shot Story: My Day as a Long Island Duck
Officiating Without Fear
Referees and Maitre D's
Accountability, Acceptability, and Reputation Penalties
Uniformity: The Tuck Rule and Related Matters
A Challenge to the Hockey Media
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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 only American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games.
Today, Stewart is a judicial 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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