NHL Ref Auger Integrity In Question.

NHL referee Stephane Auger appears to have crossed the line and may have exacted just a little too much revenge on Vancouver Canuck, Alex Burrows.  And the results are a &^$#$!storm of publicity that likely has NHL Commish Gary Bettman grinding his teeth.  After all, hockey is the last bastion of the truly pure sports role model. The NHL is the league where betting refs, steroids, guns, hookers & porn stars never make headlines.  And now this.  A senior ref may have just suffered a major drop on the integrity scale.

In a December game against the Nashville Predators, Burrows drew a penalty call from referee Stephen Auger, on what was probably a dive.  In a subsequent game against the same Nashville Predators, Burrows alleges that Auger told him during the pre-game warm-up that he was "going to get him" for embarrassing him by diving. And Auger appears to have followed through on the alleged threat in spades, giving Burrows a diving penalty, an interference penalty and a 10-minute game misconduct. The winning goal was scored against Vancouver while Burrows spent 16 of the final 17 minutes of the game in the penalty box. Vancouver lost the game 3-2, and those calls clearly influenced the outcome of the game.

The initial outcome is a $2500 fine to Burrows.  But an investigation is under way and if this ref is found to have really threatened revenge and followed through, artificially influencing the result of the game, then he too may face consequences, potentially losing an opportunity to officiate playoff games.

I've been reading and watching player reactions to the controversy from players like Calgary bolt-head Adam Pardy and even Vancouver Captain Roberto Luongo.  Pardy calls Burrows a whiner.  Luongo (Captain courageous) says what happened yesterday is best put in the past.   No one has got this player's back.  NHL players need to grow a set of balls.  It's no wonder the NHL Player's Association is a joke.  In a situation where a player intelligently articulated (in a second language for Pete's sake) a very clear sequence of events, NHL management is circling the wagons and the players are tucking their tails between their legs and cowering in their corners in fear that they could suffer ref payback, potentially at the worst possible time; in the playoffs.

Unless Burrows is a pathological liar, (unlikely since he has no history of this kind of statement in his career), then the ref told him he was going to get him; he then did just that, and the result is serious.  That ref is responsible for a game-changing goal.

That ref has to pay a serious price.  He should be sat for the remainder of the year and he should be banned from calling a playoff game for 3 years.  

One last thing.  Hockey players and in particular Canadian hockey players need to flex some grey matter from time to time.  Sometimes it's just plain dumb to live by a "code" where you just suck it up and soldier on.  The player has no way of getting back at a ref.  None!  I think Burrows did the right thing.  I think the NHLPA should get behind him.  I think Canuck management should have his back.  And Roberto Luongo should take the C off and win a big playoff game this year.