Questionable officiating adding to Leafs' problems

Officiating is not the primary reason why the Maple Leafs have lost certain games this season but a number of questionable, game-changing calls has Toronto fans concerned about how NHL referees will treat their team in the playoffs.

Video Transcript

OMAR: I'm going to preface this next point by saying, I am not blaming officiating for the games that the Leafs have lost. However, they have contributed. And it's starting to get really annoying, especially because officiating likes to say all the time that they don't want to impact the game. They don't want to do anything that jeopardizes or impacts how the game goes.

But they do. And they have been. And if you're a non-Leafs fan, we're not just complaining. We're not just whining. There are some legitimate non-calls that are happening every game. And it's kind of getting unfair.

Actually, no, it is unfair. Now, I don't know what it is. I don't know if it was after Sheldon Keefe going off on that ref and getting fined for it. I don't know if it was because of Michael Bunting. And he's kind of been selling a lot of calls. And like one call, he literally threw his head back off and the head back on, high stick call. It probably should have been a high stick call. And then they scored on it.

I don't know if it was that or just the fact that Michael Bunting just pops off on refs all the time. But like, as of late, the Leafs really struggled to get calls. All of these things happened to us. But nothing is called. Nothing is called for.

It is getting to the point now where it's like, oh my God, if it's this bad now, how is it going to be in the playoffs? An area where traditionally, the Leafs don't get the best officiating. So it's getting to the point where it's like, man, call the thing. I get it. It's frustrating. It's annoying.

But it's frustrating for us. I'm watching the game and watching players getting hooked, and cross-checked, and tripped. And it doesn't get called. And the Leafs do something. And then it's called immediately. And again, it's not just the Leafs. Around the league, things have been bad.

But the thing that annoys me about it is that people love to say that like, oh, the league is rigged for us. The Leafs have the refs in their back pocket. The refs want the Leafs to lose. And then we watch the games and we see all this crap happen. And it's like, no, it's completely the opposite.

So again, I don't know what's originated this or what's led to this. But this needs to be nipped in the bud like now. Because if the Leafs continue to have these calls jeopardize the trajectory of the game, and they continue to lose games because of it, again, not saying that officiating is the only reason they lose games, but as of late, they've been a pretty significant factor. And that needs to change.