Former NHL ref exposes the reason behind bias against Bunting
In case you haven't been paying attention, Michael Bunting has had a rough time lately. The Leafs' best agitator would have to be dismembered to draw a call at this point, and even then, would probably find himself in the box for embellishment anyway. It's reached the point where Kyle Dubas is having to step in and file a complaint with the league. The massive swing in his penalties drawn vs. penalties taken ratio is concrete proof that NHL referees are choosing to call him differently.
In an interview with The Leafs Nation, former NHL referee Dave Jackson was asked about the situation with Bunting. After admitting to not watching many Leafs games, he had this to say:
"To think that a referee wants to go out there and say before the game predetermined 'I'm gonna pick on Michael Bunting because I don't like him,' could not be further from the truth. It doesn't happen. I know a lot of your listeners are saying 'oh that's not true, it does,' but I can tell you honestly, unless there's one outlier out there that might feel that way, as a group guys, they do not feel that way. They don't want your attention on them." - Dave Jackson
So, there you have it, according to Jackson, there is absolutely NO bias among NHL referees. That's a great notion, but the next words out of his mouth contradicted his first point completely.
"Narratives.. players crate those. I mean stereotypes exist for a reason. Referees hate getting duped and when they get duped more than once by the same player, then they're hesitant to sometimes make a call. When you see a player who has burnt you in the past and something happens that's not clear-cut (. . . ) it's a judgement call. So when you have a play and you're trying to get a sight line for it and you're not sure if that's a penalty and a player involved has duped you before, you would rather miss a call than make a call and then be shown you're wrong. That's the player that creates that narrative, not the referee. The referee does not want to go out and battle with the player, that just doesn't happen." - Dave Jackson
To summarize, NHL refs have no bias whatsoever, except with the players they feel have "duped" them. In that case, they'd rather miss a call than make the wrong one. In other words, NHL refs have no bias, except for the players they're biased against. The problem is that what happens is a guy who was getting a few too many calls now gets absolutely none. It's a massive overcorrection that, if it continues into the playoffs, could very well sink the Maple Leafs.
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Of course, with Bunting's play style being heavily influenced by Brad Marchand, Jackson gave his thoughts on the Bruins' Little Ball of Hate as well. This doesn't directly relate to Bunting, but it does confirm the belief long held by Leaf fans that something fishy is going on in Boston. Marchand is and has been one of the dirtiest players in the league for well over a decade. Sadly, NHL referees somehow miss all this, believing instead that Marchand is some sort of reformed and rehabilitated player.
"Brad Marchand, when he came in the league it was like 'oh not this guy again' and then he realized; I think it was probably he had a great leadership group around him like Bergeron and those guys. I think they told him 'you're a good hockey player just play hockey,' and look at him now, he's a star." - Dave Jackson
I have no idea what Brad Marchand has done to get so deep into the referees' good books, but Bunting needs to study it and apply it himself. If the referees don't lay off with the fabricated calls and start calling Bunting like every other player, it's going to be extremely difficult for him to be at his best against Tampa in the playoffs. Even worse, it will be difficult for Sheldon Keefe to justify sending him out there knowing he's being targeted by the completely unbiased and fair referees the NHL employs.
You can listen to the full interview below:
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
| POLL |
6 Avril - 242 answers Former NHL ref exposes the reason behind bias against Bunting Is Michael Bunting being treated unfairly by the refs? |
| Yes, very obviously | 184 | 76 % |
| It's not as bad as it's being made out to be | 34 | 14 % |
| He's getting what he deserves | 19 | 7.9 % |
| NHL referees don't have bias | 5 | 2.1 % |
| LIST OF POLLS |
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