It seems Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman has reached his breaking point with NHL referee Ghislain Hebert.
Following Saturday night's game between the Wild and the Calgary Flames, Hartman openly criticized Hebert, referencing multiple incidents from the past week, including two during that evening's game.
Hartman initially took Hebert to task for a questionable goaltender interference call. The Wild reporter Michael Russo reported that Hebert had made the call from about "100 feet away" while his officiating partner was right at the net and did not make the call. Hartman said Hebert had belittled the judgment of his own partner.
But Hartman really let his ire be known on a series of cross-checks he took from Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar that were not called.
Hartman expressed frustration that this wasn't the first instance of questionable officiating by Hebert in recent games.
Adding to his list of grievances, Hartman noted that Hebert worked a game earlier in the week when Wild star Kirill Kaprizov was hurt.
In that one against the Edmonton Oilers, Drake Caggiula went knee-on-knee with Kaprizov with no penalty called on the play.
The NHL tends to come down hard on public criticism of its officials, so it's possible Hartman's comments could draw some form of disciplinary action from the league.
While Hartman wasn't overly aggressive in his remarks, the fact he directly criticized Hebert's officiating may raise some eyebrows within league offices.
POLL | ||
Is NHL officiating the worst it has ever been? | ||
Yes | 83 | 77.6 % |
No | 24 | 22.4 % |
List of polls |