Are the Playoffs Rigged? (Put on Your Tinfoil Hat, We're Going In...)

[Toni Zamboni]

[hsedin33]

There might always be something else influencing games. It is possible that other groups in the world could pay off refs, not just the NHL. I'm sure if you were to ask many retired refs, they would all say they have been offered bribes at some point.

[Apple Juice]

This is an example of the technology they had at the time:

Ahhh old school hockey... Back when faceoffs weren't at the nearest dot where faceoffs could be placed anywhere on the ice and when there was no trapezoid. Those were the days..

[skolozsy2]

There might always be something else influencing games. It is possible that other groups in the world could pay off refs, not just the NHL. I'm sure if you were to ask many retired refs, they would all say they have been offered bribes at some point.

Highly unlikely. I say that because there isnt enough money gambled on hockey for the risk to be worth the reward.

Hockey makes up about 1/3 of 1% of the sports betting industry. For the mob, or any other person with the financial means to pull this off, there would have to be a huge pay-out to risk spending any time in a federal prison. They're arent going to risk it for a $5,000 pay-out or something small....the money would have to be quite sustantial. And that kind of money is going to look mighty suspicious in hockey bets.

Hockey is not like football and basketball, where a big wager on a few fixed games can be hidden amongst all the other big wagers consistantly being bet on those sports. A person cant keep throwing big bets down on hockey games, and keep winning on them, without hearing the words "investigation". Vegas and other sports books arent stupid...it wouldnt take long for them pick up on something fishy going on. Hockey is the LAST sport a person would want to fix.

Well, thats my opinion anyway.

[Ronalds.Kenins41]

Highly unlikely. I say that because there isnt enough money gambled on hockey for the risk to be worth the reward.

Hockey makes up about 1/3 of 1% of the sports betting industry. For the mob, or any other person with the financial means to pull this off, there would have to be a huge pay-out to risk spending any time in a federal prison. They're arent going to risk it for a $5,000 pay-out or something small....the money would have to be quite sustantial. And that kind of money is going to look mighty suspicious in hockey bets.

Hockey is not like football and basketball, where a big wager on a few fixed games can be hidden amongst all the other big wagers consistantly being bet on those sports. A person cant keep throwing big bets down on hockey games, and keep winning on them, without hearing the words "investigation". Vegas and other sports books arent stupid...it wouldnt take long for them pick up on something fishy going on. Hockey is the LAST sport a person would want to fix.

Well, thats my opinion anyway.

Little extreme there but..

[TOMapleLaughs]

Wait what? Basketball and football have fixed games, but not hockey?

[TOMapleLaughs]

Btw. The way the olympics ended, with Sid 'the next one' capping off the win in a gold medal game in Canada by scoring an ultra-soft goal against the goalie of the tournament, when prior to that Sid did absolutely nothing all tourney long, was FAR to ridiculous to not have been staged.

Luongo laid down to allow the tie. Miller laid down to end it so hockey's golden boy can have his moment, with Bettman grinning in the shadows. "Yeah, you can borrow my players, but this has to happen."

[MoneypuckOverlord]

http://en.wikipedia....Stéphane_Auger

the NHL is rigged with dirty officials. They are the "leauge" they control the game. They call what they want, and they will screw over whoever they want.

NHL teams have no say in this, because they don't give a sh!t.

Kelly Sutherland, Richmond Boy is an example of one of the worst officials in the world.

I pretty much stopped caring actually about the Vancouver Canucks and the NHL, although I still have a soft spot for the Canucks. When they lose i'm not that sad as I use too, and when they win, I'm not as happy, as I use to be.

Any game that is officiated by Kelly Sutherland, is almost a sure loss or a very hard to win game for the Vancouver Canucks. Bank on it.

[Ronalds.Kenins41]

Btw. The way the olympics ended, with Sid 'the next one' capping off the win in a gold medal game in Canada by scoring an ultra-soft goal against the goalie of the tournament, when prior to that Sid did absolutely nothing all tourney long, was FAR to ridiculous to not have been staged.

Luongo laid down to allow the tie. Miller laid down to end it so hockey's golden boy can have his moment, with Bettman grinning in the shadows. "Yeah, you can borrow my players, but this has to happen."

I don't know. That the goal doesn't happen if the puck doesn't hit the refs skate and Iginla get's knocked down and does a amazing pass.

Also Lu had and still gives up lots of goals in the last minute; it just something he would do and price wouldn't.

[laxgoalie]

My IQ dropped reading this thread

[Ronalds.Kenins41]

http://en.wikipedia....éphane_Auger

the NHL is rigged with dirty officials. They are the "leauge" they control the game. They call what they want, and they will screw over whoever they want.

NHL teams have no say in this, because they don't give a sh!t.

Kelly Sutherland, Richmond Boy is an example of one of the worst officials in the world.

I pretty much stopped caring actually about the Vancouver Canucks and the NHL, although I still have a soft spot for the Canucks. When they lose i'm not that sad as I use too, and when they win, I'm not as happy, as I use to be.

Any game that is officiated by Kelly Sutherland, is almost a sure loss or a very hard to win game for the Vancouver Canucks. Bank on it.

He's from BC right? What if it's not rigged and he's just trying to so he's not biased against the canucks and bc? And Auger and Burrows both french Canadians could be the same. This all makes sense now guys.

[The Lock]

My problem with conspiracy theories like this have more to do with how many factors it would take to keep everything under wraps.

How many players are in the league? Heck, how about the staff of each team? Yet no one's talked? Wouldn't you think someone would have blurted something out by now if this were all true?

Another problem with conspiracy theories: They are very biased in their wording to the point where it often creates the very propaganda that equals the propaganda it's against.

How are conspiracies created? Usually it's a combination of the unknown with emotion. The unknown: we don't know what goes on inside the NHL. The emotion: we lost the Stanley Cup. I bet you if we didn't make it to the final, we wouldn't be having this conversation as easily. Same if we didn't face Chicago so many times in the playoffs.

My view of things: referees make mistakes. They could be biased themselves for all we know. It doesn't mean the NHL told them to make those mistakes. We see things as human beings and immediate try and interpret "why?". We WANT it to be the NHL's fault for everything to jusity us getting the cup. We felt it was our right to have holstered that cup that night so we ask "why?" This is where emotion kicks in. This is where conspiracies come into play.

Conspiracies often tend to be more selfish than we realise.

[Ronalds.Kenins41]

My problem with conspiracy theories like this have more to do with how many factors it would take to keep everything under wraps.

How many players are in the league? Heck, how about the staff of each team? Yet no one's talked? Wouldn't you think someone would have blurted something out by now if this were all true?

Another problem with conspiracy theories: They are very biased in their wording to the point where it often creates the very propaganda that equals the propaganda it's against.

How are conspiracies created? Usually it's a combination of the unknown with emotion. The unknown: we don't know what goes on inside the NHL. The emotion: we lost the Stanley Cup. I bet you if we didn't make it to the final, we wouldn't be having this conversation as easily. Same if we didn't face Chicago so many times in the playoffs.

My view of things: referees make mistakes. They could be biased themselves for all we know. It doesn't mean the NHL told them to make those mistakes. We see things as human beings and immediate try and interpret "why?". We WANT it to be the NHL's fault for everything to jusity us getting the cup. We felt it was our right to have holstered that cup that night so we ask "why?" This is where emotion kicks in. This is where conspiracies come into play.

Conspiracies often tend to be more selfish than we realise.

Emotion: Desire for Money

Unknown: How you will spend that money

Gotchya

[The Lock]

Emotion: Desire for Money

Unknown: How you will spend that money

Gotchya

That's a good unknown though. I like money too afterall.

[viking mama]

The most obvious manipulation here...is having the same Chairman, lead the Board of Governors for eternity (Jeremy Jacobs). Senior officials that aspire to cushy post-officiating careers with the League's Head Office or the NHLOA...need his approbation & that of his lap-dog Commissioner, Bettman..to obtain those jobs. So...in key games...or in the play-offs... these senior officials bend-over-backwards so as NOT piss-off the kingpins. Read a few of Colin Campbell's emails/messages to the NHL's Head-of-Officiating...before Auger-gate & Campbell-gate broke...to get a sense of just how pissed-off Mr. 2nd-in-command got - when his son Gregory Campbell had calls and/or non-calls go against him & his team. Yah! These officials KNOW...when they've ticked-off the power-mongers.

Auger-gate was an incident that revealed just how game-to-game biases can be held by an official...even tho' they are sworn to let each game play-out on its' own merits. Publicly, there was way more backlash against the victims (Burrows & the Vancouver Canucks)...than Auger, himself. On CBC's HNIC - their decision to program segments targetting this 1 particular team & player (for months on end)...was appaulling! Sutherland & O'Halloran were 2 senior officals who performed controversially in 2011...yet - they were selected to work in the Final. Perhaps, they performed to the League Chairman';s liking...because they're so "old school" & are quite tolerant of on-ice violence & antics that favor the League Chairman's team (BOS). OR...maybe because they were executive members of the NHLOA...they were more likely to harbor some vengeful bias on behalf of a disgraced union brother (Auger)? Shortly after the Burrows revelations, Auger was no longer officiating in the NHL. Mais pourquoi? Was he forced-out after more of his questionable judgements or inappropriate communications as a NHL referee - were revealed? Wasn't it Auger - who created that league-wide stir... when he penalized Shane Doan for unsportsmanlike behavior...claiming that he over-heard uttering (ethnic) slurs against him & others?

Why was vengeful retribution ONLY directed at Burr? Burrows' comments were brief & honest & delivered from an exercise bike amid a flood of emotions, during a media frenzy. A hoard of rabid reporters were all over him... because they had all together witnessed something completely outrageous & inexplicable ...during a very close NHL game. Burrows simply provided the explanation. How was Burrows, in this instance, any more or less of a threat to the NHLOA...than Doan - who also spoke-up with honesty when questioned? The difference...is that the Canucks were on track for the President's trophy. O-6 kingpins knew this ...& they used this op to take VAN down a peg... & give their own teams that possible edge.

The NHL & NHLOA then encouraged closer scrutiny of VAN. The stats bear this out...as their power-play/penalty ratio started to flip drastically after the Auger-gate incident....& especially in the season that followed. Perennial Bruins cheerleader, Don Cherry, carried-out an intense propaganda campaign vs VAN's players thru the back-half of a season & during their entire play-off run! How anyone could even attempt to villify either Sedin... is beyond me?! But Cherry did TRY! Ex-referee Ron MacLean also made it his mission to crucify Burrows - who dared to be a whistle-blower on the shinanigans of a NHLOA member. I was shocked,..when Canada's lone representive in the SC-Final ...didn't get much on-air support from the tax-payer supported HNIC. Yet on Coach's corner....the American-based Bruins pumping reached a crescendo! Cherry has always promoted the League Chairman's team & their "Rock'em Sock'em brand of hockey-violence for decades. But - the total lack of balance from Maclean & the rest...was too shameful & an embarassment for the nation's hockey-fans to behold. They tried to put every on-ice debaucle totally on 1 or 2 Canucks' players ...not on the Bruins - or the officials controlling the games. The following season...angry protests from sponsers & legions of fans across the country... prompted the CBC to have Maclean deliver a very reluctant on-air apology for it. Too little - too late, Ron!

This is how & why... certain referees get chosen to work certain series or games. Optics may tell us when there's potential for unusual bias in certain situations.....and eventho' the league knows this - they do NOT make attempts to correct anything - especially if it serves the king-pins purposes. So - best buds of an exposed & disgraced official... with sketchy conduct in certain league games...& clear candidates for promotion by the Chairman, himself...were apparently the league's best choices (out of 45 others)....to work the 2011 SC-Final between the League Chairman's team (BOS) & those in-consequential west-coasters from VAN. The results are infamous.

Without Jacobs' being so entrenched in his Chairman's position on the Board of Governors...he, and by extension, Colin Campbell, would not have had the power to influence the conduct of those on & off-ice officials. Clearly, he does have this power...& so do his henchmen. Terms of service - should be in place to prevent this.

Clearly "conflict of interest " was everywhere in 2011. And - this is what needs to change! The NHL commissioner (Bettman) has the duty to ensure... that there is fairness for all teams in the NHL. But - Bettman too, takes marching orders from the powerful Chairman. At present there's the scandal of lenient rulings to star O-6 players by the O-6 seeded DPS! By contrast - the IIHF does its' utmost to eradicate the optics of bias in regards to their assigned officials & referees...& their disciplinary rulings. I think I've demonstrated how in the NHL... where (at least) 1 of the 0-6 teams is concerned......the opposite is true!

[Tangelos]

A top 6 of Kovalchuk, Parise, Elias, Henrique and Zajac is very much a contending team. Better than the Canucks 2012 team that's for sure.

[TOMapleLaughs]

^That's 5.

[Tangelos]

^That's 5.

We only had 4 legitimate top 6 forwards in 2012: Burrows, Sedins and Kesler

[TOMapleLaughs]

We also had help from the refs. Particularly in the SJ series.

[Ronalds.Kenins41]

We only had 4 legitimate top 6 forwards in 2012: Burrows, Sedins and Kesler

The whole line of Higgins, Kesler, Booth was on fire for much of the year. And Hodgson had 10 goals when we were down by one or the game was tied. Not surprising that we won the presidents trophy in tough conference that year and NJ was 6th in a easier conference.

Some things we didn't have going though was that Booth's injury messed the flow of the american express line, Daniel got a concussion and Hodgson was traded. This basically ruined all of our 3 lines of scoring by the time we made the playoffs.

Although Henrik and Burrows had some legitimate chances to put the puck in the net that series.