NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS: SABRES v STARS

June 19, 1999

Bryan Lewis

BRYAN LEWIS: I think it is important to first of all, to point out that every goal scored in the National Hockey League sure has been reviewed. This one was no different. Our immediate reaction is take a look at it; backup tapes from a variety of angles, number of different things. Officials do not leave the penalty bench area; we do not drop the puck until they have been given a signal from upstairs to the penalty bench area to go. A couple of things I'd like to point out in terms of rules. The debate would be is: Are there reasons that a guy can have his foot in the crease and score a goal? Absolutely. One example's coming down with possession and control, taking a deke, your left foot would go you would shoot and score even thought the puck would be out, that goal counts. The debate here seems to be did he or did he not have possession and control. Our words from upstairs and our view was that yes, he did, he played the puck from his foot to his stick, shot and scored. The other component of the debate is: Does the puck change as a result of hitting the goalie on the glove. Our rules are very clear in terms of completion of play. A puck that rebounds off the goalie, the goal post, an opposing player is not deemed to be a change of possession and therefore Hull would be deemed to be in possession, control of the puck; allowed to shoot and score a goal, even though the one foot would be in the crease in advance of the puck. So that is what we looked at. That was the determination we made from upstairs, and walked our way through. This was sent to our managers in a memo dated March the 25th listing all the examples we could possibly think of that would be subject to review, dispute from upstairs, and we gave them to our video goal judges; gave them to all the on-ice people and managers as we walked our way through. Having looked at it, the determination by those of us upstairs in the goal judges location upstairs, including myself, was in fact that Hull played the puck; Hull had possession and control of the puck, the rebound off the goalie does not change anything, it is his puck then to shoot and score albeit a foot may or may not be in the crease prior to.

BRYAN LEWIS: We have talked about this. I mean, this would be the worst case scenario that you can think of. Our reaction is blow the horn; get the players back out there, drop the puck outside the blue line and play hockey.

BRYAN LEWIS: No, not necessarily because some of these had been there since the very -- it started. The terminology possession and control has always been there. The rebounds off the goalie always has been there. All we have ever tried to do is to clarify by examples of what we gathered over the years since this has been into play; to walk your way through - that when scenarios cropped up, we are in a position to say to our video goal judges, take a look at it, here is the criteria. We carry that paper with us the paper; lays there in front of the table; posted in every video goal judges location so that it is always there for any one to make any reference to. It has been in place; well looked after it. It has been there, since the inception, but it has also been clarified as recently March 25 of this season.

BRYAN LEWIS: I just said every goal in the National Hockey League this season has been reviewed. I also think it is important to point at Playoff time someone from our management team is always there. Our immediate reaction is the moment a goal is scored -- we even have this year a camera angle from down low that is mounted inside the net that is not even available to television - so the automatic process, the moment that a goal is scored, as simple as some people may think it is, we are already backing up the tapes and taking a look at it.

BRYAN LEWIS: No, because if we can look at it and say immediately, possession and control -- the idea is we don't want to have a three, four, five-minute delay. If we can phone downstairs -- we have done many, many, countless number of goals you look at and say there is not a problem; drop the puck center ice and go. So no, in all cases do we have long lengthy delays, absolutely not.

BRYAN LEWIS: Charlie Banfield, Larry Rupter (phonetic) in conjunction with both video goal judges that work here were there with us as well. But it is the League person who takes over -- there is a League person at every Playoff game. The series supervisor sits with the video goal judge.

BRYAN LEWIS: We talk about all these. We talk about worse case sin near I don't see throughout the entire Playoffs - talk about worse case scenarios throughout the entire hockey season. This is an example that we have written; talked about; looked at videotapes all year so that if it happens, we have got clear explanation as to why the goal would count or why a goal would be taken away. This whole process goes on all year. I said as recently as March 25th this year -- we even produced a videotape with a number of sequences on it to give to our video goal judges before the playoffs start. So they have had it in have it in picture form and written form, so that when we have every example we have got we think we sit in a comfortable position to make the right rulings.

BRYAN LEWIS: My immediate reaction is I think it is an inappropriate time to get into that, from my perspective.

BRYAN LEWIS: Just so you know what we do. Every time the review is made, a copy of videotape comes to the office. They are all numbered. We record them all under a variety of categories; do I have them at my disposal? No. Do we have the amount for players in the crease? Yes. I would have to go through them probably all one by one to take a look..... Probably the polite answer is, no, I don't have that to say as how many people would be. But I said before where a player comes down makes a deke; then the puck would go in the net and the immediate reaction by a lot of people is his foot was in first. Our immediate reaction is that doesn't matter.

BRYAN LEWIS: What we do, it becomes part of a signal whether the referee went to center ice to drop the puck - he doesn't drop the puck until signal is given to him by us on top. It is the same premise here is, once it is phoned down and said the goal counts, then that is it. Under normal circumstance they would go to center ice, be standing there. That puck is not dropped until they are given the signal by us.

BRYAN LEWIS: We had --- our prime tape that we used initially was the overhead - was the first one. We take a look at each tape that is there including the one that is in our net that is not available. I would say probably six, eight, and some of those include different angles that we take a look at.

BRYAN LEWIS: There is more than one of us up there. Charlie is looking at one set of machines; I am looking at another set; video goal judge is looking at another set.

BRYAN LEWIS: I can't answer that.

BRYAN LEWIS: I don't know.

BRYAN LEWIS: Absolutely..... Just -- that is the job we say as we do in many, many occasions when the players are celebrating or cheering, we just say, whoa here, it is not a goal, doesn't count --

BRYAN LEWIS: Yes, we were. If you notice -- and I can't tell you how long it took -- the officials stood at the penalty bench. They don't leave that area until they have been given a signal by us. How long did that take, I apologize I can't answer that.

BRYAN LEWIS: By telephone. We phone to the guy in the penalty box; he just says the signal.

BRYAN LEWIS: Not at all. No.