In The Crease

Andy van Hellemond, the NHL's new director of officiating, addressed the general managers at their meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., two weeks ago and said that he wants referees to crack down on slashing and obstruction and that interference between the blue lines won't be tolerated....

It would be in the Oilers' best interest to sign center Doug Weight to a long-term deal. Weight is eligible for arbitration next summer and his numbers over the last five years compare favorably with those of marquee players such as Mike Modano of the Stars, Mats Sundin of the Leafs and Jeremy Roenick of the Coyotes. The only difference is that this season Weight will make $4.3 million, $700,000 less than Roenick, the lowest paid of the aforementioned trio....

It's remarkable that defenseman Bryan McCabe of the Blackhawks won a $2.15 million arbitration award last week. In five seasons McCabe has been with three teams and hasn't played a postseason game. The only way to explain the arbitrator's dubious decision is that McCabe's side compared his numbers with those of Ed Jovanovski, the hard-hitting Canucks defenseman whose contributions don't always show up in statistics....

The contract of Devils forward Patrik Elias has made life difficult for the current crop of restricted free agents. Following a brief holdout last fall, Elias signed a three-year, $2 million deal and, having finished the season with a team-leading 35 goals and 37 assists in 72 games, seems well underpaid. General managers around the league, however, are pointing to his contract when negotiating deals with their free agents.