Does the NHL Hate the Sabres?

by David Oleksy on Mar 18, 2009 12:00 PM EDT Comment 6 comments

Does the NHL hate the Sabres? The obvious answer is no. It seems ridiculous to think that it is possible for the NHL to hate the Sabres or any other team in the league. For years I have argued that there is no way that the NHL would ever be biased against any member of the league despite people making strong arguments to the contrary. Unfortunately I am starting to doubt my own beliefs. Maybe it is possible for the NHL to be biased against the Sabres.

What finally changed my mind? It seems simple and petty but it was the game on Saturday night against the Thrashers. The officiating seemed so biased that it was painful to watch. It was so bad that one of our avid readers( that always gives the officials the benefit of the doubt) was disgusted with what he was watching. I know that officiating is hit or miss and could be good or bad on any given night but it wasn't the game Saturday that made me start to question the NHL, it was just the last straw.

This was a post that I have contemplated for a long time and I thought it seemed like sour grapes from a disappointed fan. A fan of a team that has never won a Stanley Cup. A fan from a city that has suffered through years of sports disappointment. A fan from a city that always seems to be the butt of jokes from sports fans across North America.

I decided it was time to write this post and let you be the judge. Are the Sabres hated by the NHL? There are plenty of facts that support that contention.

Scott Hartnell Goal against Sabres on March 10, 2009

This goal by Scott Hartnell was allowed after being reviewed by the WAR ROOM in Toronto despite the obvious chest bump by Scott Hartnell.

Jason Pominville Disallowed Goal February 17

You will have to skip until 1:15 of the video to see the Pominville disallowed goal.

It is pretty clear that both of these plays were just about identical yet the NHL WAR ROOM in Toronto had two completely different rulings. Is this evidence that the Sabres are hated by the NHL? One incident can't be the basis of an argument that the NHL hates the Sabres.

I'm not the only one that is confused by the NHL's ruling on these two similar situations. Goose's Roost asks How is that a Goal?

Do you need more evidence that the NHL may have a bias against the Sabres. Do you remember Brett Hull's skate in the crease in the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals? How about the Flyers goal through the side of the net in the 2000 playoffs?

Need more evidence that the NHL hates the Sabres? Follow the jump for more evidence that the NHL hates the Sabres. This is just from this season...

Denis Gauthier was suspended for this hit on Patrick Marleau of the San Jose Sharks.

but he was not suspended for this hit on Patrick Kaleta.

How does the NHL expect us to take them seriously when they allow things like this to happen? I guess that a body check on a player that is hunched over is worse than a punch to the face of a player that is not expecting it. I see the NHL's logic here...don't you? (note: sarcasm)

There are plenty of incidents that are similar to these listed above. I know thet Anaheim Ducks have cried foul and believe that the NHL is biased towards them. Maybe their contention isn't that far off base. Maybe there are teams that the NHL doesn't look at as favorably as others.

Maybe it isn't the entire NHL that hates the Sabres but at some point they have to be called out for their inconsistencies regarding the Buffalo Sabres. I'm still not sure where stand on this issue but I'm starting to believe it more and more everyday.

I don't believe that there is a master plan to be biased against the Sabres. I am however, starting to believe that the people in charge just simply don't like the Sabres and that is why things don't seem to go the Sabres way.

Am I just an angry Sabres fan or is there a bias against the Buffalo Sabres?

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Just as the NHL has been consistently inconsistent on what suspensions should be for on ice play, so has the war room on replays over the last 2 years. It has been steadily going downhill despite clear views on replay which contradicts the final judgment. Also, the quality of officiating has really been on the decline across the league this year and not just in games featuring the Sabs.

I love how Buffalo fans immediately go to conspiracy theories when things don’t break our way. As much as its clear to me that the Pats will always get the benefit of the doubt and the recipient of phantom penalties (the roughing the passer call when Brady sat down?) I very much doubt the leagues have it in for the Buffalo teams. You have to try and win the game given the conditions of that day. The Sabs over the past few seasons have proven they can’t do that.

The population of Pominville keeps rising!

by Blackcapricorn on Mar 18, 2009 12:35 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I don’t necessarily think there is a bias against the Sabres…….but there is a general and horrific lack of consistency in the officiating.

I will say that it is likely there is a bias against certain Sabres players; however, I’m sure that bias exists against certain players throughout the league. The Sabres have several players (Derek Roy chief among them) who are known for exaggerating to try and get calls. As such, someone has to pretty much commit a felony on Roy to get a penalty – the refs won’t give Roy the benefit of the doubt. Same thing used to be true of Briere when he was here.

Bottom line is, while I don’t think a widespread bias exists, the officiating has been terrible across the board, and something needs to be done about the lack of consistency.

http://hockey-sense.today.com/

by DamageInc95 on Mar 18, 2009 12:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Does the NHL hate the Sabres?

I have always believed there has been a slight conspiracy in the NHL. Granted this might stem from growing up in a city where it is impossible to stop yourself from self loathing every time a sports topic is brought to your attention. However, I have always thought that the Sabres consistently seem to get screwed at the most inopportune times. I believe the main reason this occurs is due to the fact that a majority of officials in the NHL are Canadian as well as the reply center in Toronto being ran by a group of Canadians. Seeing as how the Buffalo Sabres have always been in a division with 3 of the most prominent Canadian teams in the NHL, a lot of Canadian officials have probably grown to dislike the Sabres over the years.

There have been countless moments in Sabres history that I have noticed, what seemed to be, a clear bias in officiating that went against the Sabres in critical situations. A couple examples quickly taken off the top of my head include the Brett Hull “no goal” in the Final Game of the Stanley Cup, the “goal” against the Sabres by the Flyers in the playoffs several years ago that replays clearly showed actually entered the net by literally ripping a hole in the side of the netting (but was allowed anyways), and the on slot of undeserving penalties the Sabres failed to overcome in the Semi-finals a couple years ago against the Hurricanes.

A couple examples that come to mind in more recent history include the fact that Scott Gomez didn’t even get a 2 minute interference penalty when running Miller at the end of the game (which consequently ended up sidelining the Sabres Star goalie for the vast majority of the remainder of the season). Also, receiving 9 penalties in the game last night in Ottawa is a complete travesty that I have noticed time and time again when facing Canadian teams throughout history.

by bcownie on Mar 18, 2009 1:39 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Good teams seem to get favorable calls; bad teams do not – at least that’s the perception of home fans. I’ve seen this for many years when the Bills could never beat the Dolphins. It was always the refs fault.

Bad calls are magnified, especially in a town like ours desperate for a big winner. In every sporting contest, you could make a case for one team getting better calls than another. It just happens, and you deal with it. Winners shrug it off and go on; losers cry about it and keep losing.

Sabres (and Bills): get smarter and better players (or better coaching) and the calls by the stupid refs won’t seem so much against us. We need to play better…….period.

by ccthemovieman on Mar 18, 2009 3:34 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I strongly disagree

We have had strong teams in Buffalo that didn’t seem to get the calls. What I will say is that good teams overcome bad calls. Right now this team just isn’t good enough to win but this isn’t about winning and losing. Can anyone explain why the league issued two completely different rulings on two very similar plays. I thought the reason they used Toronto War Room was for consistency. The league has a lot of work to do whether they are biased or not their decisions are unacceptable.

D.O.
www.diebytheblade.com - An SB nation destination for Sabres fans everywhere

by David Oleksy on Mar 18, 2009 8:48 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs