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Reviews Need To Be In Arenas

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 1, 2009

BRANDON - The beauty of hockey lies in the speed, skill and passion of the game. Things happen quickly in the sport, often at a breakneck pace.

Many of the events which unfold during the course of a game create gray areas, for the players and officials alike. Players have to make split-second decisions. Referees have to decide in the blink of an eye whether or not a play was a penalty or if a goal was legal.

With so many of those in-between moments, the league should find a way to make things more black and white and leave those decisions to the guys wearing the black and white.

Take the reviews out of the league hockey operations department in Toronto and put them in every rink. Let the guys on the ice determine the outcome - players and officials alike. Allow the officials to make a call on the ice and if a play needs to be reviewed, let the officials have the final say as to whether it was the right call. Those are the guys who are accountable for their actions on the ice and it should stay in their hands.

The referees have a feel for the game, they have an understanding of what is going on and all decisions should ultimately lie in their hands, not Toronto.

In instances such as Friday, when Tampa Bay had two goals disallowed, including one by Mark Recchi that was overturned by replay due to a kicking motion, the officials could not offer an exact reason why the on-ice decision was overturned. When Lightning interim coach Rick Tocchet asked for an explanation, the officials stated the decision came from Toronto.

That's not an acceptable explanation, nor is it the right kind of accountability and the process needs to change.

"When I hear that, what am I supposed to say? I can't blame the referees because they get their call from Toronto," Tocchet said. "I had a great conversation with 29-year referee Kerry Fraser and we talked about having a monitor like they do in the NFL and he can talk to whoever and say what they saw live and this is what they see on replay. I think that might help some of the process in the future."

Another way to eliminate a gray area is to just allow every puck that goes into the net to stand as a goal, unless it's gloved in or knocked in by a high stick. But that's a debate for another day.

TOWEL WAIVER: Lightning LW Ryan Malone might have grown up with a father who played hockey and then followed in his footsteps, but the Pittsburgh native grew up a big fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So with the Super Bowl taking place today at Raymond James Stadium, Malone was not going to pass up the opportunity to secure tickets for himself and his brother, Mark, to the game.

"It's going to be special, my first Super Bowl and to have the Steelers there is the biggest bonus; I'm not sure if I would have went if the Steelers weren't there," Malone said.

Malone said he plans on showing up to today's game in full Steelers gear, including a Terry Bradshaw jersey and a Terrible Towel, a staple at Steelers home games.

In addition to Malone, Lightning captain Vinny Lecavalier along with RW Marty St. Louis, LW Ryan Craig, LW Jussi Jokinen and defensemen Andrej Meszaros and Lukas Krajicek will attend today's game.

INTERIM TAG: The plan to keep the interim tag on Tocchet has not been changed despite the team's recent turnaround. The Lightning intend to address the situation at the end of the season, but it's a safe bet that once former coach John Tortorella's contract is off the books, Tocchet will have the interim label removed from his title.

Tocchet has the respect and trust of the locker room and has the players buying into what the staff is attempting to implement. He's earned the right to be officially named head coach.

NUTS AND BOLTS: The surgery performed on G Olie Kolzig on Saturday went as expected with no complications. Kolzig is expected to return to Tampa today. ... The nine shots on goal by St. Louis in Friday's game tied a career high. ... G Mike Smith, who was pulled for the first time this season in the third period and left slamming his stick on the bench and pulling down a cart behind the bench, was given the day off from practice. ... The team will take today off before practicing and leaving for a two-game road trip Monday.

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7835.

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