The Lesser of Two Evils

*Note: I intended to publish this before the playoffs started, but life got in the way (I had to get life out of the way before the playoffs started, so there was much to do).

Today the NHL released the official list of the 20 or so referees who have been assigned to officiate the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Given my love for referees, I immediately had to open that link...

"Paul Devorski... Eric Furlatt... eh not a huge fan of Greg Kimmerly... Steve Kozari... CHRIS LEE?!?"

Those who frequent this blog may have noticed that Chris Lee and I tend not to see eye to eye when it comes to officiating an NHL game, so when I saw that he'd been assigned to work the playoffs, I was a little bit disappointed, to tell the truth. Given that he tends to work Western Conference (especially Pacific Division) games, there is an unfortunately high likelihood of his working some of the Sharks-Kings series.

This.

Is.

Bad.


Chris Lee was the first referee to join my list of Disliked Referees, and he has yet to drop from the #1 spot. I'm not sure if he is just a bad referee for the Sharks or if he is a bad referee in general, but I do know that when Chris Lee dons the stripes in San Jose, the calls will end up being bull. What makes Chris Lee even worse is that he isn't even consistent in his bad officiating. Sometimes he gets whistlehappy and a tap on the shin guards becomes a trip, a shove in front of the crease becomes crosschecking, or a legal hit along the boards becomes boarding. And then he has nights when you wonder if he left his whistle in the dressing room.

For the record, I tend to prefer refs who don't spend the whole game making calls, but I have seen enough games where the other team begins to take liberties because nothing is being called, and at that point I wonder what's the point of even having a referee on the ice.

So tonight I was contemplating the fact that Chris Lee will be officiating at least one game in the playoffs, and a curious question dawned on me -- Chris Lee or Corey Perry... which is the lesser of two evils? This is really quite the conundrum, so I decided to make a couple lists of pros and cons to get some insight into this fundamental chicken or the egg type of question. And, for the record, I don't yet have an answer to this question. Both Lee and Perry absolutely disgust me, but this question is really quite intriguing and I can't get it out of my head!

It's an interesting conundrum, mainly because Corey Perry is Corey Perry, so he has that working against him, but at least he's a player, which means he is not a referee. And as any hockey fan knows, a good referee is a very rare thing. And Chris Lee definitely does not fall into the category of a "good" referee.

So I pose the question to everyone else... Which is the lesser of two evils, Corey Perry? or Chris Lee?