It has been weeks since Connor McDavid got into some trouble. Indeed, back during the match between the Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on January 18, 2025, he illegally cross-checked Conor Garland on the head, causing a three-game suspension, which was announced two days later on January 20. Post-announcement, there were a lot of questions among the fans, especially those who pointed their fingers at the match referees for letting the situation escalate.
However, recently, after the Oilers’ match against the St. Louis Blues, a certain journalist paid attention to the game. Surely, the Oilers did win at Enterprise Center; he had a ton of questions regarding the way this match was refereed.
“Some very uneven ref’fing last night in St. Louis,” said Mark Spector on his official X post, and continued highlighting a few aspects from the game, stating, “Hated the Ekholm interference call. Didn’t understand the non-call on a hit from behind on Hyman. Full game management present as Draisaitl holds a Blues stick in OT, a penalty all day, every day. Bad both ways.”
Reffing can surely change a lot in the game, as the officials have full control of the ice. Players sometimes do get to choose, but it all comes down to the decision of the match referees. The moments that Spector pointed out might concern a lot of fans, especially those who want to see fair play on the ice.
With the Oilers having an advantage over the home team at Enterprise Center, owing to their captain Connor McDavid’s goal in the second period, the pressure was on the Blues. However, while it seemed like the Oilers had a proper moment, things completely turned during 16:40 when Mattias Ekholm received a two-minute suspension for interference as he knocked down Blues’ Brayden Schenn.
But was it the only moment that made the senior columnist question the referees? Not really. While Ekholm was given his suspension, there was no call from the referees when the Oilers’ Zach Hyman was hit from behind, which is definitely not legal on ice. And let’s not forget about Leon Draisaitl, who was holding a Blues’ hockey stick during the overtime.
Some very uneven ref’fing last night in St. Louis.
Hated the Ekholm interference call.
Didn’t understand the non-call on a hit from behind on Hyman.
Full game management present as Draisaitl holds a Blues stick in OT, a penalty all day, every day.
Bad both ways.
— Mark Spector (@SportsnetSpec) February 5, 2025
Overall, Spector highlighted the issues that the referees failed to properly resolve on the ice. And this questions the integrity of the sport and the fans who serve as an audience to these games. While all of these might be a lot different from McDavid’s situation a few weeks ago, the referees are still involved in such cases, owing to the decision that was made later on. But what was the take of the NHL commissioner on the three-game suspension that was given to the Oilers’ captain?
NHL commissioner defends his official following Connor McDavid’s decision
“First of all, we monitor the standard that we expect from our officials on an ongoing basis and on a situational basis, and in the final analysis, there’ll continue to be debate about what happened. I respect Connor and his view. Frankly, I respect all of our players. I think in terms of supplemental discipline, cross-check to the face or the head has to be dealt with,” said NHL’s commissioner Gary Bettman when he was asked about the whole Connor McDavid situation.
Bettman understood whatever happened on the rink stays on the rink. He acknowledges the action that McDavid took against Garland, but he also mentioned that a cross-check to the head area is never acceptable, no matter the circumstances. Focusing on the reffing, he shared his thoughts, stating, “I’m not endorsing it or not. I’m just simply saying you’ve got to look at the context of the whole thing. I understand the frustration, and it’s something we’re going to continue to monitor.”
The NHL commissioner is aware of the backlash that came from the fans, and he understands it. However, whatever decision the referees took was absolutely normal, according to him, and he’s glad that they didn’t stop the match when they saw the two players entangled with each other on the rink. Why so? He answered that if the game had stopped right before the final few seconds, it could’ve altered the match, and the Oilers might even have missed a chance of scoring, which could’ve possibly triggered the fans even more.
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