Mike Brophy

Veteran hockey columnist Mike Brophy writes Mondays, Wednesdays and Friday on Sportsnet.ca and appears regularly on Hockeycentral.

You're naïve if you think referees don't get even with those who annoy them.

I can recall covering the Peterborough Petes in the 1980s when the Ontario Hockey League was cracking down on players not wearing their visors properly. Players were raising them so they weren't covering their eyes and the league decided it would assess a two-minute minor to offenders. One night, Peterborough was playing in North Bay and it was obvious a number of Centennials players were not wearing their visors properly. The Petes complained incessantly, but to no avail. No penalties were called.

Two days later Peterborough played in Sudbury and lo and behold the same officiating crew was working their game against the Wolves. Within seconds of the start of the game the referee's arm went in the air and he signaled a penalty against a Petes player for - you guessed it - not wearing his visor properly.

Funny thing is the referee, who was once an NHL trainee, never made it to the big leagues.

The point is, referees are human and they can get just as emotional as the players. It is up to the NHL to continually remind its officials that in spite of the important role they play in the sport, nobody pays to watch them work. Their role is very clearly defined - learn the rulebook and then apply that knowledge accordingly.

All of which brings is to the Stephane Auger-Alex Burrows kafuffle. Two things immediately jump out to me.

No. 1, Auger had no business whatsoever engaging in a conversation with a player during pregame warmup, especially a player he has a history with. In a game earlier this season Auger ejected a Nashville player, Jerred Smithson, from a game against Vancouver after he hit Burrows from behind. Burrows appeared shaken up on the play, but wound up not missing a shift.

It was later decided by the NHL that Smithson's ejection from the game was excessive and the game misconduct was rescinded. One referee told me this morning most officials have no problem with this. They want the calls to be right because the punishment to players for each game misconduct increases with each one incurred.

You can be the judge as to whether or not Auger was happy to let bygones be bygones where Burrows is concerned. Certainly the optics are not very good when you can go to YouTube the next day and see the referee whispering into the ear of the player prior to the game.

Did Auger say, "I don't appreciate you making me look bad," and let it go at that? Or did he say, "You're a little rat and I'm going to get even with you tonight?" Burrows, after all, does have a reputation for embellishing plays in an effort to draw penalties against the opposition.

After the game, Burrows insisted Auger vowed revenge. Based on the cheap penalties called against Burrows by Auger Monday night, it certainly looked like the ref was in get-even mode. At least the referee from the junior games I covered in North Bay and then Sudbury never said a word to the Peterborough team about his intention of "getting them." He simply made his call against Peterborough early in the second game and it was obvious what he was doing.

Which brings me to point No. 2. If Auger in fact threatened to get even with Burrows, why didn't the player skate immediately over to his team's bench and tell his coach? Had Burrows done that, I think the Canucks would have a better leg to stand on when it came time to complain to the NHL about the way they were treated by the official. As it is, there is no concrete evidence Auger said anything inappropriate so it should come as no surprise that he'll work Wednesday night's Penguins-Flames game in Calgary.

What will be interesting, though, is to see if Auger gets some cherished playoff assignments? That is where the NHL could come down hard on him. There is no question he made a huge mistake in speaking with a player during warmup and in doing so, brought into question his own credibility as well as the integrity of the game.

My guess is NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell, in doing his investigation into this embarrassing situation, didn't get a convincing argument from Burrows and therefore was forced to accept the word of his official. Frankly, that makes sense.

But I am equally certain all the league's on-ice officials will receive a strict warning from the league to not engage in conversations with players during warmup. Will that change things? Perhaps a bit, but don't kid yourself; some referees will take numbers and get even with players that embarrass them or get under their skin. Given the way Auger approached things, they just might want to try to be a little less obvious about it.