Brad Marchand does what Sidney Crosby wouldn't and directly calls out what's wrong with NHL officiating
Over the weekend Sidney Crosby took a subtle shot at NHL officiating when he claimed that he wasn't allowed to say what he really thought. Prior to his comments Crosby had received a game misconduct for the first time in his NHL career. That career eclipsed 1,160 career games before an official felt Crosby deserved to be ejected.
Officiating this season has been highly criticized and Tuesday afternoon Brad Marchand added to this criticism. Unlike Crosby though, Marchand didn't offer subtle shots, instead he shared exactly how he felt about the officials performance Saturday against the Washington Capitals.
The NHL has taken a significant reputation hit this season due to their refusal to allow players and coaches to offer any form of criticism. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman has also been on record of saying that he believes they have the best officials in professional sports.
Marchand is 100% right when it comes to officiating. Players don't care that the referees call games tight, or whether they let players away with things. What players care about is whether or not the officials are consistent with those calls for both teams. Hopefully the NHL takes this into consideration and makes the appropriate changes to officiating.
| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 14 | 2415 ANSWERS Brad Marchand does what Sidney Crosby wouldn't and directly calls out what's wrong with NHL officiating Does the NHL have an officiating problem? | ||
| Yes, the referees have no accountability | 2240 | 92.8 % |
| No, the reffing is fine | 51 | 2.1 % |
| People just want to whine about everything | 124 | 5.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
![Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Sam Bennett (9) and Team United States forward Brady Tkachuk (7) fight in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/532460.webp "Feb 15, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada forward Sam Bennett (9) and Team United States forward Brady Tkachuk (7) fight in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at the Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Eric Bolte-Imagn Images")
![Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates scoring against Team Canada during the first period during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/532257.webp "Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates scoring against Team Canada during the first period during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images")
![Feb 12, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey (44) looks on against Team Sweden in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/532130.webp "Feb 12, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey (44) looks on against Team Sweden in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
