Gary Bettman: NHL to Look at Potential Expansion of Video Review System

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman held his annual state of the league press conference Monday prior to Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Blues and said the league will explore the possibility of expanding instant replay during the offseason. 

Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic noted as much, pointing out Bettman suggested the league has to find the correct balance between having more review options without going overboard.

The possibility of replay review came up during Game 3 of the Western Conference Final, when the San Jose Sharks defeated the St. Louis Blues in overtime by scoring the game-winning goal on a play that included an illegal hand pass.

"It would be good if I could keep my head from exploding," Bettman said when asked about the play that was not reviewable, per Frank Seravalli of TSN. "... You don't want to see a game decided like that."

The play with the Sharks was one of a number of officiating controversies throughout the 2018 playoffs. Erik Karlsson scored after the hand pass from Timo Meier, giving San Jose a 2-1 lead in the series.

Fortunately for the Blues, they stormed back to win the series and are now in the Stanley Cup Final—but only after general manager Doug Armstrong stood outside the officials’ dressing room saying the missed call was "f---ing garbage," per Emily Kaplan of ESPN.com.

Kaplan also noted Carolina Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind'Amour pushed for expanding replay review after the call: "It's been time forever. It's time to get the calls right, because it's just too important. Games matter so much. That was tough last night to watch."

Brind'Amour said such an expansion would help the officials, something that was clearly needed with so many controversial calls this postseason. Kevin Allen of USA Today called the officiating and review process a "five-alarm fire" and advocated for allowing all goal-scoring plays to be reviewed.

Pete Blackburn of CBS Sports listed a number of controversial postseason rulings, including the decision to give Vegas Golden Knights forward Cody Eakin a major penalty for a cross-check on San Jose’s Joe Pavelski, which gave the Sharks a five-minute power play trailing 3-0 in the final period. San Jose scored four goals in the power play and eventually won in overtime.

San Jose also defeated the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 of their second-round series, but only after the game-tying goal from Colin Wilson was waived off for a close offside call.

Elsewhere, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Artemi Panarin scored a goal during the second round against the Bruins but only after the puck hit the netting. The officials didn’t see it hit the netting, and the play was not reviewable.

Boston benefited in that series, though, when defender Charlie McAvoy was issued just a minor two-minute penalty instead of a major and game misconduct when he unleashed a vicious hit on Josh Anderson’s head.

Officiating has taken center stage during the postseason, and expanding replay review could help change that in future years.