NHL-wide problem with referees this season revealed by Oilers insider
Photo credit: Perry Nelson - USA Today Sports
Oilers insider Jason Gregor has pointed out a major decrease in NHL scoring over the last 3 seasons, mostly driven by referees calling far fewer penalties.
In last year's playoffs, the Edmonton Oilers were consistently among the lowest teams in powerplay share in the NHL. It never made sense given the Oilers high possession numbers, but now it looks like a league-wide trend.
NHL referees called 816 less penalties this season than last, leading to major decrease in scoring
According to a new report from Jason Gregor on OilersNation, the NHL called 816 less penalties this year from last year - and a major drop in powerplay goal totals and offence in general dropped with it.
It is easy to pinpoint why goals went down last year. The NHL is simply calling fewer penalties. The league had 816 fewer power plays than in 2024 and 957 fewer than were called in 2023. Please don't tell me the players are suddenly that much more disciplined.
It is a massive drop from 2023 and 2024, and the league needs to realize that offence sells tickets in the regular season, and fans loathe seeing the best offensive players hooked, slashed, and held more.
- Jason Gregor
It is a massive drop from 2023 and 2024, and the league needs to realize that offence sells tickets in the regular season, and fans loathe seeing the best offensive players hooked, slashed, and held more.
- Jason Gregor
Gregor makes a great point - it's not like the players suddenly became so much more disciplined leading to a decrease in penalties. The NHL clearly has an objective instead of «game management», aiming to keep penalties and powerplay opportunities relatively even between teams.
Calling the rulebook rewards the higher skill players, leads to more powerplays, more offence, and more entertainment for the NHL. That should be their objective regarding refereeing, not essentially the «let them play» attitude.
Fans would much rather see a slick powerplay goal than be enraged by a star player (like Connor McDavid 4 times a game) get hooked, tripped, and slashed while trying to make a play. Every Oilers fan can recall 1000 infuriating missed calls on McDavid.
After 3 years of declining goals and penalties, hopefully the NHL also sees the trend and makes an adjustment in their instruction to referees next season.
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 21 | 456 ANSWERS NHL-wide problem with referees this season revealed by Oilers insider Do you think the NHL will adjust their refereeing after 3 years of decreasing goals? | ||
| Yes | 242 | 53.1 % |
| No | 214 | 46.9 % |
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