Here’s how the NHL can fix its massive review problem

Box officials

You know how long it would take me to call a play like this in after it’s made? 17 seconds. That’s about how quickly I can google “NHL phone number” and hit dial. Granted, this is the NHL’s customer service line and they’d likely ask me to stop yelling about rule changes. If the NHL had someone in a box watching the game feed on multiple screens, they could easily radio down to the officials in, let’s say, six seconds. Does that slow the game? Not at all. Would it solve all of these problems? Yes.

An official at every game, watching multiple angles on multiple televisions for major infractions. This official cannot call penalties, but can weigh in on them and make calls on things like hand passes, pucks over the glass or offsides. We have the technology, why not use it to everyone’s advantage? The extra official would be in contact with those on the ice at all times so in instances like this, plays are blown dead. Who cares if the call comes three seconds late. If it’s the right call, it saves the league a whole lot of trouble.

The box official could be valuable in the NFL as well. How many Saints fans are still upset with the blown pass interference call in the NFL championship game? Probably all of them. An official watching that game in real-time could have seen and made that call, potentially saving us from another Patriots Super Bowl and avoiding the absolutely stupid pass interference challenge rule that was the butt of CFL jokes for years. Seriously, this PI challenge rule is going to ruin a full season of NFL football before they take it away in 2020.

It’s probably worth noting that if this system was in place, we’d be arguing that the Vegas Knights got away with a brutal missed call, not the San Jose Sharks, who would have lost in the first round.