It's Over!

After 259 days and 1,400 games, the 2023-24 NHL season is finally over! We look back at Games 6 and 7 of the Stanley Cup Final:

Game 6: The Edmonton Oilers win a critical offside challenge against the Florida Panthers. That one took guts... but should we even be reviewing plays that close? What about 'the spirit of the rule'? Where's the line? Also, Florida's Sam Bennett gets dumped right before an Oilers goal, with no call on the play. Should there have been one?

Game 7: With only three penalties in the game, each one was huge -- including two minutes to the Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk for tripping as he slid into - and took out - the Oilers' Warren Foegele. Should the refs be calling this at all? Especially in a Game 7? Why does that matter?

The NHL's new rules are coming for 2024-25, including puck over glass challenges and penalties for sitting on the boards. We'll break down the changes and their possible impacts to the game.

The ECHL makes some promotions and expands their officiating management team, with longtime NHL linesman Tim Nowak and former AHL/ECHL/IIHF referee Tim Mayer joining Riley Yerkovich. Also, USA Hockey taps ref Andrew Bruggeman as their Coordinator of Youth Officiating Development.

Wes McCauley give us a history lesson on hand signals - via the Big Whistle Bill Chadwick - as part of the NHL's American Sign Language Stanley Cup Final broadcast.

Another year of Hockey Hall of Fame Inductions without an official heading in. Kerry Fraser is long overdue. #VoteKerry

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The Scouting The Refs Podcast is a weekly look at the world of officiating and player safety within the National Hockey League, AHL, ECHL, and other leagues around the world. We'll break down the calls and the rules behind them to help understand why a penalty or suspension was - or wasn't - handed out.

Todd Lewis is a veteran broadcaster covering the NHL and other major league sports. Lewis is a former host on the NHL Network and on NHL Network Radio. He’s also worked for TSN, Sportsnet as a host/anchor and is a producer of other programs.

Josh Smith is the founder of Scouting the Refs, the leading independent site related to hockey officiating which follows hockey officials across the NHL, AHL, ECHL, and other leagues around the world, including news, rule changes and interpretations, suspensions, and statistics on officials and penalty calls. 

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