Wikipedia defines it as this: A conflict of interest (COI) occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other.

In the corporate and business world, "conflict of interest" is serious business, but apparently in the NHL they go by another set of rules. These scenarios are continuing to ruin the integrity of the game, and should be continued to be questioned until they are resolved. The NHL game is at its best right now, but there is little bits of what might be called corruption. While these people in question may not be corrupt as individuals, their actions of conflict of interest are slowly seeping into the game as a whole. The game of hockey should fair and balanced, officials in charge should set up an environment for the best hockey players in the world to wage battle on the ice in a quest of the greatest trophy in sports today: The Stanley Cup.

As the NHL heads into the Playoffs, there are bound to be many controversial calls. There should be a complete overhaul of the committee that oversees disciplinary calls, as well as video reviews. To avoid conflicts of interest there should be a neutral committee that involves a variety of people, not just players, but perhaps former referees, and maybe even people that have never played the game.

Here are a list of individuals and scenarios that are involved in some degree of conflict of interest.

1.Colin Campbell

Where to start with this guy? You could make a case for his dismissal just based on his out of date views on the game, and his lack of proper discipline for players that cross the line. It's the most blatant form of conflict of interest however that boggles the mind as to why he still has a job. His son Gregory Campbell plays for the Boston Bruins, a team that plays hard and on the edge, and has just happened to have been involved in several incidents that would require Mr. Campbell to have some say in disciplinary measures. Of course the NHL states that any ruling involving the Boston Bruins will not involve him, and will be deferred. Who's kidding who here? These guys all work together and are friends, if anyone thinks that Colin Campbell has had no say in any of the rulings with the Boston Bruins, they are being naïve.

Even Joe Thornton, a former Bruin player, has hinted that the Bruins have been getting favorable treatment. "It's just something with Boston; it seems like they have a horseshoe. There's just something about Boston and the disciplinary [decisions] are on their side. It's just bizarre." Is Thornton being biased against his former team? Perhaps, but where there's smoke there's fire, so you have to think that other players share Thornton's feelings. If players are thinking that, it already is showing how just the presence of Colin Campbell's tenure as the head of discipline is corrupting the game.

The innocent player in all of this is one that nobody really talks about and that's Gregory himself. What is it like for him to play in a game, where many people think that his Dad is giving his team a preferential treatment? Hockey players can be brutal with their trash talk, so you know it's something that he's had to endure. Something strange happens to hockey parents when they watch their sons play; it was an issue in the minor leagues, before they changed some of the rules, so it's a wonder why the NHL doesn't abide as well.

2. Mike Murphy

When the Bruins are involved in disciplinary measures, the NHL says that Mike Murphy is in charge. He was the one that had to hand down the controversial no suspension for Zdeno Chara, and while he doesn't have the same kind of bias that Mr. Campbell may have, he may not be devoid of them. Mike Murphy has had some connection with the Los Angeles Kings' organization, which came out in an article that was on the Los Angeles Kings website.

"I think it would be so neat to see the Kings succeed and win a Stanley Cup because it would do just a tremendous amount for the Southern California market and the Kings franchise," Murphy said. "They have been hard working and very close in a number of years, so that would be nice to see."

Are these the types of things a high ranking NHL official should be saying? Then early this year Dean Lombardi made some disparaging remarks about Murphy's COI.

"When the guy in Toronto making the decisions on the goals, in Ottawa and the one tonight, wanted the GM's job in L.A. and was not happy about not getting it, you have to assume you are going to get those type of calls," Lombardi said.

These two scenarios seem to go against each other, but one thing is clear, something is up with Murphy's relationship with the Kings. What would happen if the Boston Bruins and the Los Angeles Kings met in the Stanley Cup? Would Gary Bettman step in and make the rulings? Clearly he knows hockey, and what is best for the game, which brings us to #3.

3. Phoenix Coyotes

So for the past year or so the Coyotes have been owned by the NHL. Now while the conflict of interest is pretty apparent here, there hasn't really been any evidence of any. That may be because there is a lot of money at stake here, so the NHL may be really careful in how they are perceived in this matter. They are looking for new owners and really want the team to stay and thrive in Phoenix. Why though? The stadium is in the middle of nowhere, and fans haven't shown up for years despite actually having a good team. Gary Bettman's bias here is his own ego. He wanted southern franchise teams, and leaving Phoenix would be seen as a failure. It's not a classic COI, but is there something to the fact that Phoenix has made the playoffs the last couple of years in a tough Western Conference? That would be very tough to prove, and is probably better served for conspiracy theorists, but it doesn't dispute the fact that this all looks really bad for the NHL. If Phoenix is involved in any controversial plays in the playoffs, watch for this COI to be surfaced again.

4. CBC

This one is going off the radar a bit, and is not directly involved with any of the operations of the National Hockey League. Hockey fans in Canada are amongst the most passionate in the world. The debate is constantly raging amongst them as to who CBC is giving preferential treatment to. It's no secret though that Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights has always belonged to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Whenever officials at the network are questioned about the Maple Leafs dominating the show, it always comes down to pure ratings. It's an argument that can't be won. When Toronto travels out west, the games are always moved to a time that caters to their fans. That's just what fans in Canada have grown accustomed to and have resigned the fact that that will never change. The question is has CBC been taking liberties with this position? Don Cherry is an unabashed homer for the Maple Leafs, but no one really cares, because he's just a lovable old coot. Ron McLean on the other hand doesn't seem to get the same free pass though. Last year during the Burrows/Auger incident, McLean lead a typically "un-CBC" like tabloid feature on the integrity of Alex Burrows. It was a strange moment for the CBC, which in the past has been accused of being and safe and uninteresting. It was also a moment that even though was criticized out West was barely acknowledged by the Eastern executives of the CBC. One has to wonder if Ron McLean felt so passionately about a subject against a Maple Leaf player if he would have still aired it.
Recently Maple Leaf goaltender James Reimer has emblazoned his mask with images of McLean and Cherry, which begs the question what, if anything, CBC thinks of that? Do they care that they are perceived as a Toronto Maple Leaf station?

Where the conflict of interest comes in is that CBC is a publicly owned company, yet they seem to be driving a wedge between themselves and the rest of Canada which pays taxes to keep them on the air. Now this is a less egregious situation than the ones with the employees of the NHL, but it may be foolish for CBC to continue in this way as their rivals at TSN are trying to take a slice of broadcasting Canadian hockey, and they already have their theme song. Perhaps one of other Canadian goalies like Carey Price, or Roberto Luongo should put Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger on their mask.