Ridiculous Uniforms In The NHL Are Now Making It Impossible For Refs To Do Their Job
I feel terrible for Charlie McAvoy. I haven't seen anyone have this bad of injury luck since I was just a young Jordie growing up watching Eric Lindros' prime get stripped down hit after hit.
A lot of Bruins fans are, rightfully, upset with NHL referee Garrett Rank for missing a clear chicken wing elbow straight to McAvoy's chin here from Sandis Vilmanis. To make matters worse, the hit only received a 2-minute minor penalty for an "illegal check to the head". The Bruins were then given a 2-minute minor for Aspirot going after Vilmanis, and another 2-minute minor for unsportsmanlike conduct. So after all of that, the Florida Panthers end up on the powerplay.
I get it. It's easy to blame refs. It's easy to say the Florida Panthers always get away with murder, while the officials in the NHL have all conspired against your favorite team. But do you want to know what's the real issue here?
Megan Briggs. Getty Images.This ridiculous jersey matchup we were subjected to last night in Florida.
What are we doing here, guys? This is the National Hockey League. This isn't some EASHL matchup. This isn't playing 'Chel with the boys and choosing the most asinine jersey matchup you can come up with.
One team wears white. The other team wears their colored uniform. The jerseys don't blind you. Nobody is wearing white gloves. It's a hockey game, not a fashion show.
How do you expect refs to be able to do their job when they are disoriented every time they look up? Of course Garrett Rank wasn't able to see that flying elbow in real time because the whole damn thing just looked like a blur to him. I love shitting on refs just as much as the next guy, but buddy is living out a fever dream for 60 minutes out there. I wouldn't be shocked if his vision is fucked for the next week after having to call that game. If you want the right calls to be made during a game, then you can't be allowing 8-year-olds to choose the jersey matchups.