A letter to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman:
In 25-plus years of being a hockey fan, I have never seen such botched officiating as I was forced to witness during this year’s Stanley Cup finals. From Dwight King’s Game 2 goal that should have been disallowed (and should have resulted in a minor penalty against King), to the tripping minor on Mats Zuccarello in Game 5 that should have been a penalty against Jake Muzzin, your men in stripes managed to blow critical calls that clearly and improperly changed the outcome of this series. Perhaps the solution is allowing the coaches a certain number of video reviews on demand. Whatever the solution, you must immediately and publicly acknowledge the failed officiating and take action to resolve it. Ice hockey never will be taken seriously as a first-tier sport until you make this right.
Peter B. Zurich
Le Roy, Ill.
Offseason of flux
We’re proud of our Rangers. They reached a plateau that no one thought possible, beating Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Montreal, but Los Angeles was too much to handle. Still, if not for two key bad calls, the outcome of these finals might have been different. In Game 2, the goaltender interference on the Kings that was not called allowed L.A. to come back from a 4-2 deficit, and in Game 5 the tripping call on Mats Zuccarello that allowed the Kings to tie the game at 2, actually should have been a tripping call on L.A.’s Jake Muzzin. In addition to the usual headaches that ensue during a hockey season, general manager Glen Sather and coach Alain Vigneault need to evaluate Rick Nash, who was AWOL in the playoffs, Brad Richards, who was inconsequential in the Rangers’ offense, and Benoit Pouliot, who consistently takes dumb offensive-zone penalties.
Elio Valenti
Brooklyn
King needs help
If Henrik Lundqvist wants to win a Stanley Cup with the Rangers, he has to take a salary cut so they can sign goal scorers. This is as good as we can be with the team as it stands. We have to score by committee because we don’t have a go-to guy who can get us a goal when we need it. A great goaltender still needs a team that can score for him. So it’s up to Lundqvist to decide if he wants a Cup or if he just wants to be the highest-paid player in New York without a ring to show for it.
Patrick Grant
Rocky Point, N.Y.