Season 7, Episode 13
December 12, 2025

 

Hands off! We’ve got a whole slew of hand pass reviews on this week’s #RefsPodcast. The rulebook was changed in 2019 to allow challenges for hand passes leading to a goal, but this is the first time we’ve had four in just over a week. Also on the show:

  • Anaheim Ducks’ Jacob Trouba lays the hammer on Washington Capitals’ Ryan Leonard. The Caps were mad, but was it legal?
  • The Ducks’ Leo Carlsson gets a shootout goal wiped out for the dreaded double-tap.
  • Florida Panthers’ Brad Marchand has the puck go off his glove prior to a goal. We’ll break down why this WASN’T a hand pass.
  • Buffalo Sabres’ Alex Tuch bats the puck while holding his stick. Not one we’ve seen often, but a good precedent-setter for future ruling on why this WAS a hand pass.
  • The easiest one of them all – Chicago Blackhawks’ Colton Dach plays the puck with his glove then misses it with his stick, resulting in an easy hand pass call that even New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin caught.
  • Tampa Bay Lightning’s Gage Goncalves gets ejected for a clear knee-on-knee hit on Toronto Maple Leafs Dakota Mermis that looked intentional. Should he have also been suspended?
  • Toronto’s Bobby McCann does get suspended for a stick-swinging incident. Was this the right ruling? Not based on what we’ve seen in the past.
  • The Olympic refs are out… sort of. We check out the leaked list of stripes, but expect some of those names to change. We’ll tell you why.

 

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Follow @scoutingtherefs and @toddlewissports, and be sure to subscribe to the Scouting the Refs Podcast!

Visit scoutingtherefs.com and follow @scoutingtherefs and @toddlewissports on Twitter/X, Instagram, Threads, BlueSky,and YouTube. Email us your questions – heyref@scoutingtherefs.com   #RefsPodcast

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The Scouting The Refs Podcast is a weekly look at the world of officiating and player safety within the National Hockey League, AHL, ECHL, and other leagues around the world. We’ll break down the calls and the rules behind them to help understand why a penalty or suspension was – or wasn’t – handed out. 

Todd Lewis is a veteran broadcaster covering the NHL and other major league sports. Lewis is a former host on the NHL Network and on NHL Network Radio. He’s also worked for TSN, Sportsnet as a host/anchor and is a producer of other programs. 

Josh Smith is the managing editor of Scouting the Refs, the leading independent site related to hockey officiating which follows hockey officials across the NHL, AHL, ECHL, and other leagues around the world, including news, rule changes and interpretations, suspensions, and statistics on officials and penalty calls.