Do you feel the NHL is rigged, scripted?

[Matty Sundin]

You can’t keep secrets anymore this day and age. If it was, something would have came out already to expose it.

The refs definitely do manage the game to control it more then most people like but saying it’s rigged or scripted it just tinfoil hat talk or fans of losing teams grasping for excuses.

I do get the refs being inconsistent can make people think like that but also some people are just bad or have off nights at their jobs like everyone else.

 

[Peat]

Unless refusing to call the rulebook is rigged, no.

If it is, then yes.

 

[ottawa]

Sometimes due to game management

 

[Bond]

I don’t think it is scripted. I think they are trying to find the balance between calling everything by the book and giving officials leeway to make the decisions they think are right. It leads to a confusing mess of inconsistent reffing and goal reviews.

 

[its josh]

Bankrupt teams going to the SC Finals the next season.

 

[DJB]

Scripted? Absolutely not.

Are there some shenanigans that go on with the draft and reffing? I can buy that easily

Otherwise no

 

[JAK]

There definitely are preferential treatments from the league in terms of how they handle different situations, but nothing is scripted.

Draft lotteries are definitely messed with though.

 

[Bombshell11]

It's unscripted, in the same way reality TV is unscripted. There are producers that guide the situations in certain directions, but that's it.

so rigged?

 

[McVespa99]

The guys running the show are not smart enough to write a script or make it work

 

[MetalheadPenguinsFan]

Scripted? No

 

[StoveTopStauffer]

How many moving parts would you think need to be involved?

 

[PuckG]

No.

Sometimes incompetent decisions or reffing get confused as being “rigged,” but there is no grand conspiracy.

 

[Joe MacMillan]

Some games are definitely managed by the officials, that is the refs trying to make an impact on how the game is played on the ice, which I hate. A good example is this year's Final, where every small scrum resulted in a penalty called because the refs wanted to "send a message" to the players.

But it's impossible to think how the games could be scripted, as in the refs and the league working together in conspiracy to achieve some desired outcome. I mean wouldn't all the actors (players, coaches, etc.) have to be involved in it for it to actually work?

 

[John Price]

Nope it's perfectly legitimate

 

[HisIceness]

Only if my team loses. If my team wins it was fair and square.

 

[Crede777]

No and in my opinion the NHL is missing opportunities by leaving way too much (the draft, player movement, etc.) to chance. I'm not saying the league should become Pro Wrestling, but from a business sense they should probably try to exert control to the extent that they can while remaining undetected.

For example, in 2015 McDavid probably should have "luckily" gone to Toronto and 2016 Matthews just happens to go to Arizona.

Instead, they put players in spots that don't make much financial sense and just shrug when rivalries fail to form due to idiotic playoff brackets and scheduling.

 

[Sabre the Win]

No but I do think refs show bias.

 

[nightonthesun]

I work for infowars. Would you be interested in an interview? We also sell an enticing array of supplements and anti-mind control drugs

 

[Stive Morgan]

Not scripted, but influenced (likely in a way to try and make the most money) for sure

 

[Painful Quandary]

Not scripted or rigged, but more of a thumb on the scale sort of thing. I do think the league has strong incentives to influence results, and can do so through reffing (what penalties to focus on, how tight to call games, etc.). I will also say it does not help that the draft lottery is done in an opaque manner when it comes to this question.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

Scripted: No. "Managed" in terms of when/what penalties get called: absolutely.

 

[RANDOMH3RO]

The amount of cognitive dissonance to believe it is scripted is huge. Even things like grand schemes involved in the refereeing is far fetched. Why watch if you think it is rigged but totally made to be believed that it’s real?

 

[Il Stugotz]

The league puts its thumbs on the scales sometimes. The 2011 finals were the most obvious. Does anyone seriously think Horton would’ve gotten 4 games for throwing that exact same hit in Rome? Of course not.

 

[Midnight Judges]

There is far too much randomness in hockey for anything to be scripted. The difference between winning and losing is often an odd bounce of the puck. It is very obviously not choreographed.

That said, some players get preferential treatment from the referees IMO, but that is a galaxy away from rigging or scripting.

 

[Guttersniped]

I think its fair to say the league has a few guidelines that it expects all actors to respect

what say you

I say that I don’t even know what this is supposed to mean. You have to spell out your conspiracy theories for non-believers.

It's unscripted, in the same way reality TV is unscripted. There are producers that guide the situations in certain directions, but that's it.

Hate to burst your bubble but reality tv, if you mean the ones where cameras follow people around all day, can get pretty planned.

Live sports is live sports. You can’t stop the cameras.

I don’t even understand who the the evil overlords pulling the strings are supposed to be in this scenario.

Individual owners I guess, since that’s who pays the players, but how and why do the work together?

The “league”, if you want to point to the refs, but how are they separate from the owners?

Also, people complain when the refs “game manage” and don’t call every penalty in the playoffs.

Except of course when the refs are supposed to put their whistles away, “let them play” and not call everything.

And the term “game management” is actually about game flow, how to keep the game from getting too chippy, when do you actually let them play, etc. It’s actually an essential part of reffing. Sorry, but it is.