The NHL's biggest star is out indefinitely after suffering a concussion Monday night.
It was a hit that has separated most hockey fans, some think as the NHL's golden boy, Sidney Crosby is receiving preferential treatment from the league, while others think Washington Capitals defenceman Matt Niskanen should be suspended for the rest of the post season. There's also those who land somewhere in between.
Niskanen was given a five minute major and a game misconduct for the hit, while the Penguins' captain left the game and did not return. He has since been ruled out indefinitely with a concussion.
Former NHL Referee Kerry Fraser thinks the on ice officials handled the situation well.
Former NHL referee Kerry Fraser (Photo provided by Kerry Fraser)
"The dominoes started to fall when Alex Ovechkin slashed Crosby in the back, and that sort of started his fall going into the Niskanen hit," says Fraser. "Niskanen's hands were low, he didn't really separate his hands in a cross check motion, it looked more a reflex motion than anything. I'm good with the call on the ice, the referees did the appropriate thing calling the penalty, and once the injury was serious, the rule prescribes at that point a major and game misconduct would be assessed."Officiating in the NHL for over 30 seasons, including 12 different Stanley Cup Finals, Fraser is no stranger to playoff hockey. He says in a perfect world, Ovechkin would have also been given a two minute penalty for slashing, but was happy to see the five minute major assessed to the Caps' defenceman.
He says although he doesn't feel there was any intent to injure by Niskanen, he doesn't like when it's referred to as a "hockey play."
"I hate the term, I've heard it so often throughout my career, as a referee we look at more black and white infractions," says Fraser. "We had this new phrase come in from Hockey Operations that says it's a 'good hockey goal' or 'good hockey play', but I haven't seen the terminology anywhere in the rule book over the course of my career in the NHL."
Kerry Fraser's bestselling book "The Final Call, Hockey Stories from a Legend in Stripes”The NHL game has never been faster than it is now, which makes an official's job all the more challenging. Fraser says refs don't have the luxury of slow motion replay to call a penalty, they need to rely on their positioning, especially on close plays in and around the net.
He says the referees will need to be on their game for game four Wednesday night in Washington.
"You will have to have all hands on deck, you have to be prepared for the storm, and not the norm. The officials will need to have their head on a swivel, you need to be aware of who's on the ice at all times. There's some gritty players on both sides who have to be watched, it's so important to be aware of the personnel who come over the boards at any given time," says Fraser.The Sarnia native has 2,165 NHL games under his belt, with 261 of those being playoff games. Fraser reffed his final game on April 11, 2010, and wrote a best selling book that was released later that year."You don't want to over officiate the game and take the emotion out of it right off the bat, but you do have to be prepared in a scrum situation, or if someone takes a liberty at another player with a dangerous hit, you have to be ready to raise that arm quickly."
He was elected into the Sarnia Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.