How often do officials make adjustments during the Stanley Cup Final?

Nobody is ever happy with the officiating in the playoffs. It’s well known that NHL referees are much lighter on their whistles as the postseason begins, and it creates a process that very few people are happy with. The fans struggle to understand why it’s put it place. Some players struggle to adjust to the change in game dynamics. Coaches always have some kind of complaint about the calls, and with so few going on, it’s usually about why their team got one of those few calls.

So what happens when a team isn’t happy with the officiating, or how the league is approaching a certain rule? What’s the process like for a team to voice out a complaint about the officiating? And most importantly, do those complaints actually encourage the league to change anything?

Frank Seravalli talks about the process of how teams consult with the league about their complaints with officiating, and changes actually do occur from it, on Daily Faceoff Live.

Frank Seravalli: It happens in every series, every morning of every game, and the entire playoffs. The teams meet with the series supervisor, and bring whatever points you want to bring to the table.

How often are adjustments made? Well, there’s different referees in every game, so naturally there’s very little that’s the same game to game. I think there’s certain things that they’re told to be aware of that come and get communicated from the series supervisor.

Short of that, I have always viewed, and I think general managers who have been in these meetings will tell you, that it’s all just lip service. Even if you brought 15 clips to the series supervisor, they’re just listening to you vent. It’s a glorified therapy session, and nothing’s changing after the fact.

You can watch the full episode here…