If the Buffalo Sabres start getting preferential treatment from NHL referees, they might have their broadcast analyst Rob Ray to thank.
Late in the second period Saturday night, Florida Panthers forward Jonah Gadjovich hit Jiri Kulich hard in the neutral zone, sparking a scrum on the ice and briefly sending the Sabres rookie to the locker room. A penalty was initially called on Gadjovich, but officials rescinded it after review, ruling Kulich touched the puck before getting hit.
That decision, however, was made before the officials knew Ray, who is known as a tough broadcaster after already having the reputation of being an enforcer during his playing days, was prepared to retaliate against them.
“He’s not even looking at the puck! That puck hits his stick by accident and he’s looking to hit Kulich from the second he came out of the box. Let’s just go home,” Ray ranted. “As I said the other night, most referees like to keep their IQ at room temperature. And that’s a good case of it right there.”
IQ at room temperature would be a much worse insult coming from NHL broadcasters in Canada, where they use Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, but suggesting the officials have an IQ between 68-72 is still a slight.
Almost immediately after the overturned call, Buffalo’s Jason Zucker took a slashing penalty, and that’s where Ray really decided he was ready to take matters into his own hands.
“This is why referees lose control of the game sometimes. I might go down there,” Ray said before imploring play-by-play announcer Dan Dunleavy to join him. “Which one do you want? I got the other three. You take one, I got the other three.”
It’s one thing for a broadcaster criticize a bad call, but the NHL probably draws a line at going down to the ice and challenging officials to a fight. And if there’s one broadcaster who refs won’t want to test, it’s probably Ray, who logged more than 3,200 penalty minutes in his career, thanks largely to his propensity for fighting.