from Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun,
The timing is perfect for the NHL to declare a Centennial project to give the game back to the fans.
What we’ve witnessed in the last few days alone screams for it to happen.
The freeze-frame for it all came in an Edmonton Oilers game against the Coyotes in Arizona Wednesday evening.
The TV cameras caught it perfectly. The referee stood six feet away watching Connor McDavid get mauled and hauled down. I mean, the ref was positioned like an umpire for a play at the plate. It was, at minimum, interference but qualified as several other infractions. No call. And he was captured staring right at it and standing right over it.
It’s been happening all season. Clutching and grabbing, and hacking and whacking is back, and it’s escalated the last couple of weeks. It was especially visible in the last two games involving Chris Lee as referee. Teams are going to do whatever they have to do to stop the young talents like McDavid. Right now, they’ve settled into mostly hacking and whacking away at will.
Fans made it more than obvious what they wanted to watch back before this season began when the U-23 Team North America collection of young stars put on such a wonderful show at the World Cup of Hockey in Toronto.
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.