Leafs' record with Wes McCauley calling their playoff games vs their record without is very telling
In the wake of everything that happened in last night's game between the Leafs and Lightning, there are two groups going to war on social media; those who know and understand that there is a direct conflict of interest between Wes McCauley and Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe and those who either don't know about it or don't wish to acknowledge it.
For those who may be unfamiliar, without getting too deep into the details, Keefe had previously testified against McCauley's brother-in-law, David Frost, following some very serious allegations. Naturally, McCauley and Frost are very close, so as you can imagine, McCauley isn't too fond of Keefe.
Following the Leafs' blowout loss to Tampa on Tuesday, Leafs Nation has taken to social media to air their frustrations about the game, and the officiating in particular. Likewise, Leafs detractors showed up in droves to accuse Leafs Nation of whining, as usual, as if they don't have any reason to be upset or frustrated with two straight series against the Bolts where the officials told a lot of the story.
Last night's game was a solid example of what one-sided officiating truly looks like. For one, the penalty scaling was horrendous. At one point, Tampa led the Leafs 6-2 in power play opportunities. It was only once the score had been run up that the Leafs received a couple of additional power play opportunities.
Perhaps the most damning evidence of unfair play lies in the fact that, after last night's loss, the Leafs are now 0-8 in playoff games officiated by McCauley. For context, they're 17-17 when McCauley is not officiating their playoff games. Now, playing .500 hockey in the postseason isn't great by any stretch of the imagination, but the lopsided win/loss record when McCauley manages their games is very telling.
For obvious reasons, the Leafs can't say anything publicly for fear of Gary Bettman slapping them with a hefty fine, so the Leafs are in a bit of a pickle here. Ideally, what should happen is that GM Kyle Dubas should approach the league to request that McCauley be assigned to different matches to avoid any conflict of interest. Whether or not the league would entertain the idea is another story. We all know how Bettman feels about the officials, after all.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 19 | 2245 ANSWERS Leafs' record with Wes McCauley calling their playoff games vs their record without is very telling Should the Leafs put in a request to ban Wes McCauley from officiating their games to avoid a clear conflict of interest? | ||
| Yes | 1873 | 83.4 % |
| No | 87 | 3.9 % |
| Won't matter - Bettman wouldn't allow it | 285 | 12.7 % |
| List of polls | ||
