Many hockey fans have been asking themselves this question for years. The answer is not as straightforward as you might think, and it has to do with the role reversal that takes place before each game.
On one side of the rink, you have the faster, stronger, and better players looking to score goals and rack up assists. On the other side, you have the officials looking to maintain a clean game and send the players off to wash the ice bucket before the next period starts. The lines are pretty clearly drawn, and it’s an interesting dance that takes place before every game.
To illustrate this phenomenon, let’s take a quick stroll down memory lane and revisit some unforgettable hockey moments.
Table of Contents
The Overtime Lift
If someone had told you back in the day that the National Hockey League (NHL) would have four overtimes per game, you probably would have thought they were mad. Overtimes were a thing of the past – at least they seemed to be – and the game was considered to be over when the horn sounded at the end of three periods. No ties, no sudden death, no extra periods. Just two teams going at it until one of them stopped skating and the other kept on pushing for a winner.
It’s funny how things change, isn’t it? Sudden death and extra periods are now a common part of hockey, and it’s because of a rule implemented in 1974 that gave each team an extra attacker after the game ended in a tie. The idea was to create the possibility of five goals per game, a pace that the NHL never really recovered from. While the rule itself didn’t cause the surge in goals (that came from a much broader change in hockey equipment), it certainly helped create an atmosphere that encouraged more offense.
The Shooting Star
In 1980, the rules for goalie equipment were changed to allow for more shooting accuracy. Before the rule change, the padding around the chest and neck area of goalies was to keep the puck away from the goalie’s head and throat, preventing any serious injuries. The new rule eliminated this protection, opening the door for more high-quality shots on goal and more goals scored by rookie goalies.
Goaltenders nowadays have gear that’s almost as bulky as that of today’s NHL players, and the gear advancements have only helped create more scoring opportunities. It’s safe to assume that the change helped fuel the high-flying 1980s and the “goal-scoring” decade that followed. Which makes the change itself a sort of ironic turning point in the history of the NHL.
The Surge In Scoring
Through the 1990s, the NHL had largely avoided the sudden offensive explosion that baseball experienced in the previous decade. While there were some scoring spurts here and there, the league as a whole hadn’t seen a major increase in goal scoring. One of the exceptions was the 1998–1999 NHL season, when 28.4 percent of the goals scored were game-tying or go-ahead goals. It wasn’t until the following year, when the extra-attacker rule was implemented, that the goal-scoring percentage went up and up.
The rule is often confused with the shootout, but it’s not the same thing. The shootout was originally a competition between the goalies to see who could stop the most shots. The rule, however, gives each team an extra attacker after the game. In terms of increasing goal scoring, the two are generally seen as being separate entities with separate purposes.
The Hulking Giants
In the first round of the 2003 playoffs, the New Jersey Devils took on the New York Rangers, two teams that had combined for 16 previous playoff appearances. With the series shifting to New York, the tables turned, and the officials began to defer to the bigger, stronger, and often more talented teams. This is especially surprising given that many of the officials are former players who know what it’s like to be in the trenches battling it out with the best players in the league.
The referees are the eyes of the game and are often seen as the last line of defense between the players and the elements. With the officials’ attention focused on the game itself, it’s no wonder that they begin to call the shots for the teams they’re supervising. The deference shown to the Rangers in this series was unprecedented, and many believe that it was a major factor in the Devils’ eventual Stanley Cup win.
The Referees’ Uniforms
The idea for the NHL’s current set of referee uniforms came from a young girl. In 1960, Barbara Ann Scott was born into an NHL family and grew up watching her father Jim officiate games. After her father became the first full-time NHL referee in 1961, Barbara wanted to help him out by sketching out uniforms for the referees. She drew inspiration from the stripes on the uniforms of Major League Baseball, which were inspired by the colors of the flag of Lebanon, where MLB owner Charles Luckey was stationed at the time.
Luckey loved the idea and commissioned Scott to design a set of NHL uniforms. When they were first introduced, the striped uniforms with red trim looked like a winner. Almost 50 years later, those uniforms are still the standard set of attire for referees and the occasional game commissioner.
While the striped uniform set itself was a major success, Scott didn’t stop there. The following year, she came up with a fuller set of uniforms for the referees, which were based on the uniforms of the time: the short-shorts, mid-length shorts, and long-sleeved jerseys.
Unlike many NHL uniform designs, the current set of referees’ uniforms doesn’t feature the league’s trademark hexagons. According to Scott, the hexagons were too expensive to make and didn’t look good on the ice anyway. Instead, the designers kept the design simple and utilized a cross-braced logo on the front of the jersey. This logo is supposed to represent the referees’ connection to the NHL, while also paying homage to the letter “C” – the first letter of the word “consult.” The logo is actually two intersecting circles with the word “consult” inscribed between them in a decorative fashion. It’s a subtle nod to the importance of inter-rink communication during hockey games, and the role referees play in ensuring a clean game, honest play, and timely stoppages of play.
While the current set of NHL uniforms hasn’t changed a whole lot in 50 years, it hasn’t been without its controversies. In 1989, the officials went through a major overhaul, with many believing that the colors of yellow, black, and red weren’t flattering to their complexions. This issue was so major that it was the subject of a lengthy documentary by the name of “The Dirtiest Game” (which isn’t available for viewing online, but can be found on DVD).
The issue of the officials’ clothing becoming outdated was also brought up in 2009, when the NHL debuted a new set of logos and uniforms. Many felt that the new designs were a step back, and it wasn’t until October of that year that the NHL returned to its traditional look. In November, the officials filed a class-action lawsuit against the league, alleging that the league had failed to pay them for the clothing that they were wearing at the time. In December, the suit was settled for a total of $6 million, with the officials agreeing to waive any further claims for clothing not paid for during the times that the lawsuit was filed.