It’s time for the NHL playoffs, and that often means it’s time for NHL coaches to lash out at the on-ice officiating when they see a call they’re unhappy with.
Indeed, in this cover story from The Hockey News’ April 18, 1964 edition (Volume 17, Issue 29), The Hockey News covered Detroit Red Wings coach Sid Abel and Toronto Maple Leafs counterpart Punch Imlach as they criticized NHL officiating in the post-season.
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Abel called Frank Udvari, the NHL’s senior on-ice official, “gutless” and said Udvari “blew” a call. He was fined $500 by the league for the outburst, but that penalty didn’t stop Imlach from going even farther in his criticism of the referees.
“I don’t care whether newspaper guys are here or not,” Imlach told the Canadian Press at the time. “(Udvari) is the worst referee in the league and I’ll probably say it again before the series is over.”
Ripping the referees isn’t rare in playoff hockey, but in this case, the criticisms led to hockey’s gatekeepers looking to change the way games were officiated. Stafford Smythe, then-president of the Maple Leafs, said he would be in favor of the league moving to a four-referee system for the Cup final. At that time, the NHL alternated officials in playoff games, but Smythe made a compelling argument to expand the number of officials on the ice.
“I don’t think a man can be at his best when he works every other game in the series,” Smythe said. “Also, you get the players playing the referee, not the other team … we’ve got four men capable of working the playoff, so why not use them all?”
ABEL, IMLACH RAP REFEREE’S CALLS
By THN Staff
TORONTO, Ont. – Have National Hockey League coaches declared open season on the league’s senior referee? It would seem this is the case with so much criticism of Frank Udvari flying in the current Stanley Cup playoffs.
First it was Detroit coach Sid Abel who went off the deep end in labeling Udvari ‘gutless’ and uttering that Udvari ‘blew’ the call and that the disputed goal was a ‘steal’ on the part of the official.
For his outspokenness, Abel was fleeced of a cool $500 by NHL president Clarence Campbell, who said Mr. Abel “vigorously impugned the integrity of Referee Frank Udvari.”
Hardly had the matter cooled down when Leafs’ manager-coach Punch Imlach took aim at the same Mr. Udvari and straight-forwardly called him “the worst referee in the league.”
Imlach’s wrath was raised against the NHL’s No. 1 referee in the April 11 Stanley Cup final playoff opener when Udvari gave the Leafs two misconduct penalties as he followed orders to enforce certain sections of the rule book.
Imlach didn’t hesitate in his criticism of Udvari.
“I don’t care whether newspaper guys are here or not,” Imlach told a Canadian Press writer between periods as he watched a film of team captain George Armstrong being given a misconduct. “That guy is the worst referee in the league and I’ll probably say it again before the series is over.”
Imlach may not get as many chances to watch Udvari’s work as he expected.
Campbell announced four referees will officiate at the first four games of the finals, a departure from the usual practice of having the two senior men alternate.
Vern Buffey, the No. 2 man, will referee in the second game. John Ashley will work the third game in Detroit and Art Skov the fourth game also in Detroit.
At the beginning of the final series, Campbell ordered the referees to crack down on two sections of the regulations on misconducts; one directing that a misconduct be assessed against any player who does not proceed immediately to the box after he is given a minor penalty and another which directs that only the team captain or alternate captain on the ice at the time has the privilege of chatting about the rules.
Stafford Smythe, president of the Leafs, says he is in favor of the four-referee system for the finals.
“I don’t think a man can be at his best when he works every other game in the series. Also, you get the players playing the referee, not the other team … we’ve got four men capable of working the playoff, so why not use them all?”
The Hockey News Archive is an exclusive collection of more than 2,640 issues and more than 156,000 articles exclusively produced for subscribers, chronicling the complete history of The Hockey News from 1947 until this day. Visit the archives at THN.com/archive and subscribe today at subscribe.thehockeynews.com
News Summary:
- Archive: In 1964, Red Wings' Abel And Maple Leafs' Imlach Dished Out On Playoff Officiating
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