Sir: It appears that the referees have two rulebooks, one for the regular season and one for the playoffs. The Don Cherry mentality of “let them play” has taken hockey to a new low in these playoffs. The amount of illegal slashing, cross checking, hooking, elbowing, high sticking, running the goaltenders and scrums after the whistle with no penalties being called is turning the game into a farce.
But the referees will call a delay of game penalty for a player knocking the puck over the sideboards from his own end. Why is this still a penalty but all the other nonsense is not?
Where has the head of officials gone during these playoffs because if he were doing his job he would fire all the playoff referees on the spot.
At times it is like watching a combination of boxing, wrestling, dancing and mixed martial arts on ice! Perhaps someone should promote this new ice sport during the summer months to prepare the NHL players for the coming season.
Wonder why hockey registrations are going down? What parent would want their child participating in a sport where trying to injure another player is top priority.
What fan wants to pay $100-200 to see a game live and watch Sidney Crosby sitting in the press box with a concussion?
When is the last time you saw a fight in an Olympic or World Championship hockey game? Isn’t it time to ban fighting like every other sport has with immediate ejection from the game? Just for once I would like to hear a hockey TV analyst be honest about what he is viewing.
I have been a hockey fan all my life and recently finished watching Canada play Sweden in the finals of the World Championships and it was a joy to watch hockey at its finest with all infractions being called by the rule book.
Reg Johnson
Chatham
