Referees being exposed for clear bias against Draisaitl
This season, Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl has been one of the most elite players in the faceoff circle, winning an extremely impressive 56.9% of his draws. However, any Oilers fan has noticed that Draisaitl is repeatedly being kicked out of the faceoff dot for inexplicable reasons. Now, Kurt Leavins in the Edmonton Journal os saying he believes something is amuck with the officials' treatment of Draisaitl, and the Oilers should say something.
If you have watched the games, you will know that Draisaitl is repeatedly being kicked out. And a majority of those are over the most minute of issues. I covered hockey for 35+ years. I played at a decent level. I was even also a linesman at one point. I am telling you, something here smells. If I were the Oilers I would be crying foul.
In December of this season, Draisaitl was mic'd up for a game against the New York Rangers where he was constantly being kicked out of the faceoff circle because the referee kept faking him out with puck drops. Draisaitl tried to control himself and please his case to the official, but he was clearly frustrated with his treatment.
This will be something to continue to watch in the coming weeks as the games begin to have higher stakes. If this continues to occur, and Draisaitl is repeatedly kicked out of high-stakes faceoffs, the Oilers organization needs to make an appeal to the NHL, or work directly with referees to find their inexplicable problem with Draisaitl.
| POLL | ||
Do you notice Draisaitl getting kicked out faceoffs often? | ||
| Yes, happens all the time | 432 | 78.1 % |
| No, there's no bias here | 72 | 13 % |
| See Results | 49 | 8.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
MUST READ
