“It’s All Fixed”: Former NHL Star Officiates Against His Old Team, Raising Eyebrows Amongst Fans

The NHL and its relationship with controversies is a never-ending affair. Giving wind to fire, the prestigious ice hockey league managed to get itself embroiled in yet another one, this time for being biased. Something the NHL has also faced criticism for in the past. The Carolina Hurricanes faced off against the Montreal Canadiens yesterday and it was officiated by Wes MacCauley and Carter Sandlak. Things looked normal until keen observers found out that Sandlak was a former player for a Carolina-based team.

An article by ‘Blade of Steel’ covered this aspect that the NHL allowed to happen. A former player refereeing in a match that involves one of his former teams is bound to raise some eyebrows. When it went viral on social media, fans could not keep calm about it.

The blows just keep coming for the NHL

Gloves Off Hockey wrote in a Facebook post, “Conflict of interest or not?” with the thinking emoji attached. They shared the article by Blade of Steel. It covered how the NHL is facing immense flak from the hockey community for letting this happen. Sandlak never made it in the playing unit of the Carolina Hurricanes but spent two seasons for their AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers.

He was a Carolina farmhand, who, after playing for two years, retired in 2018. Sandlak always dreamed of making it to the NHL. Even if it’s in stripes and not in jersey colors. So when he got an opportunity to officiate a game, Sandlak accepted it with both hands. Although it looked like another NHL game from the outside, fans could clearly see the writings on the wall.

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What further aggravated the controversy was when the Hurricanes won the match. The Hurricanes, who are the prime contenders to win the league, beat the Canadiens 4-3 in a pretty tight contest. It was an evenly poised match, with both teams tied at 3-3 till the end time. Both teams stood a chance to win, but it was the Hurricanes who scored a goal in the shootouts.

Fans on social media took the NHL to the cleaners

While there is no way of telling if Sandlak’s presence during the game made a difference, fans were hard to keep calm after it. Here are some of their comments:

“So the plan was: give up on your dream, retire from playing, take 5 years to learn to ref just so you could help the Canes beat the lowly habs in a meaningless game in April…diabolical”

“Haven’t many referees over the years been former players at least at the minor level? Haven’t many referees officiated their hometown teams and teams they rooted for growing up? If that’s not an issue for them, why would it be for this guy?”

“In a league that shoves gambling down your throat you’d think they’d have a more strict policy and some kind of consistency when it comes to the officiating”

“It’s all fixed to some extent anyway. When the refs do what they are told, why does it matter?”

“Lol. Nhl officials have become a joke”

“Of course it’s a conflict. Human nature is human nature”

It was a clear case of ‘conflict of interest’ in the fans’ eyes, and there was no respite for the NHL. However, the NHL is yet to respond at length on this matter. Do you think NHL should’ve prevented such a scenario? Let us know.

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