Obstructing justice: it's a matter of enforcement

Sporting News, The, Feb 16, 1998 by Larry Wigge

Two years ago, Scotty Bowman was standing in the middle of the visitors' locker room in St. Louis, chomping on ice and speaking confidently about the Red Wings' chances of breaking the NHL record for victories in a season and winning a Stanley Cup--if officials would continue to call obstruction penalties, allowing his talented team to show off its superior speed and skill.

The Red Wings won a league-record 62 games that season, but lost in the Western Conference finals to a bigger Colorado team that impeded Detroit's skaters with clutching, grabbing and other obstruction tactics. That forced Red Wings management to transform its roster. The Wings brought in bigger players at the expense of speed and won the Stanley Cup last spring--their first since '55.

You can't blame Bowman for being skeptical when he hears league officials say now that they will go back to the 1995-96 obstruction calls in an attempt to show fans the NHL figures to gain from the Winter Olympic Games that its product is exciting and worth watching. Bowman stood in that same St. Louis locker room last Saturday discussing obstruction, but the confidence was missing. Bowman and other league coaches soon will receive a videotape explaining how obstruction will be called after the Olympics.

"It won't help us that much," he says, matter-of-factly. "We don't have the same fast-breaking talent we did two years ago. Oh, we're still quick but not like two years ago."

Bowman falls short of saying the Avalanche will have an edge because of their speed. And he doesn't mention Philadelphia, Dallas or New Jersey--the other teams in the NHL's elite five. But don't let the cagey Bowman fool you--he knows Detroit's team quickness ranks right there with Colorado and Dallas. He also knows New Jersey is most likely to be affected by a legitimate crackdown on obstruction.

"The zero-tolerance policy will mean the Stars will have to work harder to be a good defensive team," Dallas G.M. Bob Gainey says. "Hopefully, it's going to give more incentive to be a team that participates in the offensive zone as opposed to a team that uses a 1-2-2 defense (the trap)."

Coyotes G.M. Bobby Smith says this decision goes beyond just selling the NHL product after the Olympics. "What's going to happen when four new teams come in with expansion?" he asks. "That means about 30 defensemen who aren't good enough to be in the league now will be given jobs.

"Why should a Mats Sundin or a Keith Tkachuk be penalized just because they're big, mobile skaters and they are easy to neutralize by jumping on their backs and riding them down? Same with Jaromir Jagr and other stars in the game."

Panthers G.M.-coach Bryan Murray voted against all but one of the 10 rule changes proposed by the league's G.M.s. Murray, like Bowman, is in favor of a second referee.

"Nothing against our referees," Bowman says, "but they have the most difficult job in sports. Four eyes are better than two. I just think two referees is a preventive measure, like a speed trap on the highway. Players would think twice about breaking the rules. One umpire could do the job by himself in baseball. But they use four--and look at how much better the game is officiated."

The two-referee idea, one ahead of the play and one behind, has been a continuing experiment over the last four preseasons. In games with two referees, fewer penalties have been called--and the games have been faster, too.

"I hope people don't judge us totally by what they see after the Olympics," Blues G.M. Larry Pleau says. "This game doesn't need the radical changes people have been talking about. We just need to police our game better.

"Some people think you will see 20 to 30 calls a game if referees crack down on obstruction. That's not what we want at all. We just want the skilled players to be able to perform. Steve Yzerman is good enough to fight through a tug and still make a play. Same with Brett Hull. We want to see players move their feet better defensively. If they get beat, don't tackle the guy, just move your feet better the next time. I honestly think this type of crackdown will open up the game, and then we can tinker with another couple of rules changes for next year."

The NHL will play some exhibition games next September without a center-ice red line. But commissioner Gary Bettman doubts that radical change will pass the drawing-board stage if the league's new zero-tolerance policy on stickwork and holding has its desired effect. He points out that NCAA scoring has dropped by two goals per game, despite the absence of the red line.

The NHL, trying to prop up a goal-scoring average that dropped from 6.4 per game last season to 5.3 in 1997-98, also plans to experiment with different versions of the hurry-up faceoff (once teams are on the ice, they are given five seconds before the linesman drops the puck--ready or not) that has been a huge success in the International Hockey League since being adopted three weeks ago. Line changes during neutral-zone faceoffs will be banned next season and an automatic game misconduct will be assessed for anyone receiving a major penalty for kneeing.