Is it finally time for the NHL to add off-ice officials?

Tyler Yaremchuk was joined by Colby Cohen to discuss whether the NHL should have an off-ice referee on the latest episode of Daily Faceoff Live.

Tyler Yaremchuk: A couple of headlines are starting to pop up from the first day or so at the GM meetings and one of them was the potential changes to video review, Colby. The idea of more or less video review being in the game. One thing talked about was should puck over glass penalties be reviewed. And this year they introduced reviewing high sticks.

If it’s a double minor they have the ability to go to the Ipad and double check that it was actually a player on the other team’s stick that goes up and gets them. I was very much against this idea when it came in, I was like why are we bogging down the game with more reviews. I’ll be honest, I’ve been in attendance for a handful of games this year where that’s happened, they’ve had to review a high stick, it takes 25 seconds.

They’ve done a good job of being incredibly quick with it so on first glance I sit here and go why are they sitting here zooming in on a puck that ticked off the top of the glass and that would pi-- me off because I don’t want more reviews but then I look at how the high stick thing went and I’m like that’s actually not that big of a problem. And if come playoff time it saves a team from a puck over glass penalty, maybe I’m kind of in on adding a little bit more review. Where do you come in on this?

Colby Cohen: So here’s what I would say. I know the NHL and the situation room is reviewing everything at all times. But here’s what I’m going to go ahead and say this. I think we need to get an official off the ice into a room in the building with their own cameras or multiple TV screens and that person in charge of only that game should be reviewing everything as it happens. That way a whistle, goal, whatever by the time the officials go from pointing to a goal back to the referee circle in front of the scorer’s table, the decision should already be made.

That referee, wherever he is can literally hit his talk button to communicate to his partners. Take one off the ice and put him there, so now you get a body off the ice which makes more room and more goals and it’s already done, the decision has been made by a game official. Not somebody sitting in a room in Toronto or New York but an actual referee. Let him wear the outfit, let him have the stripes on I don’t care but that to me I think is a way they can speed this stuff up without getting anything wrong.

You can watch the rest of the episode here: