Tag: nhl
NHL’s ‘Situation Room’ Doesn’t Miss Anything, Anywhere

NHL’s ‘Situation Room’ Doesn’t Miss Anything, Anywhere

By Michael Russo, Star Tribune (Minneapolis) (TNS)

TORONTO — Man cave bliss.

That’s the first impression in the NHL’s Situation Room. The 20-by-40 haven of high-def TVs and projector screens would be the perfect place to throw a Stanley Cup-watching party, if only they’d add a few recliners, a wet bar, pool table, some poker chips, and a popcorn machine.

None of that is in the works, though. Real work is done in this high-tech room — dubbed the “video war room” — that essentially is surveillance of 30 NHL arenas.

This video room, where every goal from every game is reviewed and confirmed, is not to be confused with the Department of Player Safety video room. That room, where games are watched in part for incidents that may require supplemental discipline, is in New York, where Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly work.

The situation video room is in a different country. The windows overlook Lake Ontario a few blocks away and look down on the roof of Air Canada Centre, which is attached to the NHL’s Toronto headquarters. This is the building where Executive Vice President and Director of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell and Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations Mike Murphy work.

Almost 1,000 miles from St. Paul, it was in this room February 12 where the league confirmed that Jason Pominville scored a goal even though a pass ricocheted in off his braking skate. It was in this room February 28 when the NHL initiated a video review in Denver to inform officials that Maxime Talbot actually scored against the Wild, a situation that actually pained this group and was a swaying influence toward getting a coach’s challenge next season. It was in this room March 14 where the league disallowed a Zach Parise goal because they determined he scored with a kicking motion.

The NHL had 243 official reviews (meaning they’ve gotten referees on headsets) this season and have overturned approximately 20 percent, league officials said, noting they have taken a second or third look at roughly 600 goals to confirm they’re good.

One wall of the NHL Situation Room is all glass and leads to the offices. The wall across has a big-screen TV in the middle and is flanked by two framed pictures. One is an ode to Roger Neilson, dubbed “Captain Video” for being one of the first coaches to embrace video. Neilson, who died in 2003, is one of the inspirations for the war room. On the right is E.J. McGuire, the former director of NHL Central Scouting who died in 2011.

The front wall has 30 feet of stacked big-screen, HDTVs that allow them to watch multiple games, multiple feeds, and multiple angles, like overhead views.

In front of the TVs are three room-wide rows. The front and back have work stations for coordinators to staff games and two media relations staffers who send out emails and tweets update the Situation Room’s nhl.com blog with explanations of allowed and disallowed goals.

In the middle is “the Bridge,” a raised platform where the supervisor sits. Usually it’s Murphy. When it’s not, it’s Vice President of Hockey Operations Kris King or Senior Director of Hockey Operations Rod Pasma. If there are six or more games at once, two supervisors work.
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FAST TURNAROUND

In front of the supervisor is an intercom system that allows the league to reach the video goal judge and referees at each arena instantly. Because arenas are so loud, there’s a red strobe that flashes any time the NHL needs to reach a video goal judge. If a goal judge needs to reach the league, a red strobe and overhead lights flash in the Situation Room.

One coordinator is assigned one game. He has three 24-inch screens in his station where he can watch the home and away raw feed (no delay) and different angles, like an in-net view or overhead.

The coordinator has a laptop where he catalogs everything from a game, not just the goals and penalties. If he feels a referee or linesman missed a call or made an incorrect call, he logs it. He logs injuries and embellishments and other in-game events.

After each game, a report is spit out with video clips. That document is sent to Campbell, Murphy, and the rest of hockey operations and Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom within five minutes.

“Ninety-five percent of the video Walkom sends his officials, if not all, comes from the guys in here watching games and clipping plays,” Pasma said.

A summary of every game is also written and sent to Bettman and Daly.

“Everyone that needs a report gets a report within 20 minutes of a game ending,” Pasma said.
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A FINE LINE

On March 22, the day the Star Tribune was granted access to the NHL Situation Room, there were only four NHL games, though all heck broke loose at the end of the first game — St. Louis at Detroit.

Just 24 seconds into overtime, Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader scored the winning goal. Referee Eric Furlatt ruled good goal, but immediately something didn’t smell right to the men in Toronto.

It turned out Abdelkader had snapped his stick across goalie Jake Allen’s pads and scored with a broken stick. Not only should the goal not have counted, it should have been a penalty.

There was nothing the Situation Room could do. It’s not a reviewable play. The incident has generated a lot of discussion since. Should the NHL expand the Situation Room’s jurisdiction for reviews or add this type of seldom-seen situation to the coach’s challenge that is expected to be introduced next season?

“If you review this, do you review every single potential questionable play? Where does it end?” Pasma said. “I swipe your feet out and shoot it in? Common sense says it’s a penalty, but it wasn’t called. Offsides and there’s a goal, how far back do you review? Three seconds, five seconds, 30? There’s lot of residual stuff if you open this door.

“Now we’re officiating from the video room, and no one wants that.”
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COACH’S BREAK

On this day, coordinator Tim Campbell was working the Bruins-Lightning game. Eight goals were scored. After each one, Campbell yelled to Pasma, “Got a goal.” Campbell was watching in real time. By the time Pasma looked up, he saw the goal on a delayed satellite signal.

Campbell and Pasma will consult, and if it’s a good goal, the puck is dropped. If there’s a question, Pasma will initiate a video review. Sometimes referees initiate it.

The only incident during the Bruins-Lightning game was referee Justin St. Pierre waving off a Boston goal because Loui Eriksson made incidental contact with Lightning goalie Ben Bishop. Video goal judge Gerry Dollmont contacted Toronto immediately, but it was not a reviewable play, and the men in the Situation Room agreed St. Pierre made the right call anyway.

Next year, this could be a reviewable play if the opposing coach initiates his coach’s challenge. Coaches will be able to contest goals or non-goals for goalie interference and if a delay-of-game penalty is called for a player shooting the puck into the stands.
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WAIT UNTIL NEXT YEAR

When deciding to recommend a coach’s challenge, one of the examples the general managers watched was an incident February 28 in a Wild-Avalanche game.

On a fluky dump-in by Talbot, Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk was pushed into the net by Avs forward Cody McLeod with the puck lodged under his pad. Referee Chris Rooney ruled no goal.

“That was a weird one,” Pasma said. “We had to call Rooney to tell him the puck was over the line. But because the goalie interference is not reviewable, we couldn’t tell him why it was over the line. How it got there was up to him to determine.”

Next year, Rooney would be able to look at that play again in consultation with Toronto if coach Mike Yeo issued a challenge.

High sticks are the toughest calls. Usually the referee’s call stands because it’s so hard to find conclusive video evidence. Pucks off skates can be difficult, although this year there’s more leniency. If a puck directs in off a skate or a player stops on a puck, it’s a good goal (Pominville’s February 12 one vs. Florida would have been disallowed last year, Pasma said). Distinct kicking motions where the skate blade comes off the ice or there’s a huge pendulum are disallowed.

Most reviews are routine, but there are a handful they’ll debate before the supervisor makes the final decision. The Parise disallowed goal in St. Louis in March required a fair amount of discussion and a frame by frame look, but Pasma said the no-goal call in Toronto was unanimous.
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A QUICK SAVE

That same March 14 game, there was a close call. Patrik Berglund deflected a Jay Bouwmeester shot for what looked like a one-zero Blues lead. It went to video review, and the Situation Room confirmed Berglund didn’t score with a high stick.

But as the puck was about to drop, coordinator Ryan Bottum yelled, “Wait a minute, this isn’t even in the net.”

Pasma jumped for the strobe just in the nick of time and informed referee Tim Peel the puck hit the outside of the net. If that puck had been dropped, Pasma said, grinning, “That wouldn’t have been good.” A decade ago, that goal would have counted simply because the off-ice official who’s tasked with turning the archaic red light on for goals got fooled.

“At the end, whoever’s up front makes the final decision,” Pasma said. “More times than not, we’re all on the same page.”

As technology improves, so has the Situation Room’s ability to judge. By the playoffs, there will be cameras two-thirds up the inside of the posts to get pictures of the goal line. They hope one day to have cameras on the crossbar to better determine high sticks.

“There’s a misconception all we do in here is goals and no-goals. That’s our primary responsibility, for sure,” Pasma said. “But we make sure our broadcast partners aren’t going over 30-second commercials, that the microphones in the boards work, that the logos and ads along the ice are appropriate, that there’s not too many people on the ice during TV timeouts, that the pucks aren’t bouncing too much because of bad ice or freezers not working properly.

“We keep an eye on everything. Think of us like quality control. We’re always watching.”

Photo: Jerry Meaden via Flickr

Ex-Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Nominated To NHL’s Hall Of Fame Board

Ex-Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Nominated To NHL’s Hall Of Fame Board

In Canada, hockey is on the five-dollar bill. In America, it is known as another of ex-Toronto mayor Rob Ford’s vices.

In case you missed it, something of a media scrum occurred over the weekend. The Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF), the Toronto-based institution that venerates the sport’s greatest players and contributors, announced that Rob Ford had been selected as one of three Toronto politicians the city appoints to the HHOF board.

The nomination of Ford, who admitted to smoking crack cocaine while in office and once half-tackled a city councilwoman on live television, among other unprofessional acts, has now upset many hockey red bloods, who see it as a pratfall by the Hall and a slight to the good conscience of the hockey world.

Sportsnet broadcaster Damien Cox tweeted a slew of incendiary responses to the nomination, including “So Toronto Catholic school board won’t let Rob Ford coach football. But Hockey Hall of Fame embraces him. Someone should be fired.”

Yet, and this is to the Canadian media’s credit, the overall response to this news has been amused skepticism. And perhaps that’s because the former mayor has recently undergone cancer surgery. Or, it could be a matter of distance making the heart grow fonder and the press is happy to see the Great White Ford back on the social scene. And after all, as the Toronto Star points out, it could be worse. Ford, who is still involved in politics as a city councilor, could have been appointed to a board with some actual power such as the Affordable Housing Committee or the Budget Committee.

In some ways his appointment to the HHOF board is not such a bad decision. Whether anyone cares to admit it or not, Ford does more or less embody the spirit of hockey. He’s a Toronto Maple Leafs fanatic known for his loud, crass, incredible candor. Outspoken, patriotic, indulgent, and brazen, Ford is not the face that hockey needs, but the mug it is going to deal with.

Ford’s role on the board will not be to nominate anyone for the Hall. He will be a part of the process that chooses the selection committee — the group of 18 journalists and Hall of Fame members — who vote on the nominees. Similarly, as it was Toronto that nominated Ford for the board, it is up to the city to remove him.

The Hall, for its part, was quick to distance itself from Ford and the controversy his nomination has stirred up. A couple of snarky tweets and a statement made it clear that the city of Toronto has the right to nominate and elect up to three individuals to the 18-member board. They added, somewhat cheekily, that the HHOF doesn’t get to decide whom the city of Toronto chooses as its representative to the board any more than it decides who gets to be the mayor of said city.

Promising to do everything within his power to promote the sport to children, Ford said, “I like rolling up my sleeves and showing up to meetings and getting it done.” (Ford’s appointment occurred in December; he has attended one meeting so far.)

A Hall of Fame, by its nature, stokes controversies. But Ford’s appointment is not an injudicious snub. After all, the controversy appears to be a good distraction for a sport that would rather avoid questions of drug abuse to self-medicate concussions, racist behavior towards black players, and of course, the perennial question of whether fighting should be condoned or not.

As the sixth most popular sport in the States, Rob Ford’s nomination to the HHOF board may just be the kind of publicity the sport needs. Just in time for the playoffs.

Photo: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford via Facebook

Stars Make Four-Year Deal With French Wing Roussel

Stars Make Four-Year Deal With French Wing Roussel

Dallas (AFP) — French left wing Antoine Roussel has agreed to terms on a four-year deal with the National Hockey League’s Dallas Stars, the team announced Tuesday.

The deal, worth a reported $8 million, avoids a salary arbitration hearing between Roussel and the club.

The 24-year-old from Roubaix, who moved to Canada at age 16, had a career-best campaign last season with 14 goals and assists on 15 others over 81 games.

Roussel also ranked third in the NHL with 209 penalty minutes.

“Since coming into the NHL, Antoine has been a very effective and hard player for opposing teams to compete against,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said.

“His skill combined with his competitive grit create energy for our club that impacts our whole lineup.”

In his NHL career, Roussel has compiled 21 goals and set up 22 others over 120 games.

Roussel scored six goals and set up five others for France in their eighth-place finish at this year’s World Championships.

AFP Photo / Thearon W. Henderson

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LA Fans Celebrate Kings’ Stanley Cup Crown

LA Fans Celebrate Kings’ Stanley Cup Crown

Los Angeles (AFP) – Thousands of Kings fans turned out in downtown Los Angeles on Monday to celebrate the team’s Stanley Cup triumph, the Kings’ second NHL title in three years.

The Kings wrapped up the title on their home ice on Friday with a double-overtime victory over the New York Rangers that gave them a four-games-to-one win in the best-of-seven championship series.

On Monday, players and their families along with coaches and staff celebrated aboard double-decker buses and flat-bed trucks in a parade that ended in front of their Staples Center arena.

The Stanley Cup itself came along for the ride, and as the participants pulled within sight of the arena, confetti rained down and the team and fans moved inside for a celebratory rally.

“It’s hard to kind of explain what we go through as players,” Kings captain Dustin Brown told the crowd, trying to put into words how the team felt about a triumph that came after they fought back from the brink of elimination in earlier playoff rounds.

The Kings became the fourth team in NHL history to overcome a 3-0 deficit to win a playoff series and went on to become the first team in league history to reach the Stanley Cup finals with game-seven victories on the road.

They sealed the unlikely title on Alec Martinez’s goal late in the second overtime of Friday’s game five against the Rangers.

“I think when we look back on this team in 10 or 20, or 30 years, everyone, even from a fan’s perspective, they’re going to talk about how we came back from 3-nothing, how we came back from 3-2, how we had all these comebacks throughout.

“All those things are possible because of the relationships we have bonded together,” Brown said. “I just want to say to all my teammates: ‘I love all you guys.'”

Photo: Kevork Djansezian via AFP