NHL Referee
When we consider professional hockey, most fans talk about their favorite team or favorite player, but does anybody have a favorite referee? In this article, we will explore the life of being an NHL referee.
The NHLOA
The NHLOA (National Hockey League Officials’ Association) was created in 1969 as a way of improving working conditions, salaries, and job benefits for National Hockey League Officials.
Bill Friday was the first NHLOA President. He was instrumental in forming the Association. In 1972 the World Hockey Association (WHA) began competing directly against the NHL; this opened the door to NHL officials more aggressively negotiating with the NHL, which led to the first Collective Bargaining Agreement that would be implemented before the start of the 1973-74 season.
Over the next several years until the 1980-81 season, different referees took the mantle of president of the NHLOA. Matt Pavelich, Wally Harris, Bryan Lewis, and the late John McCauley.
When the WHA merged four teams with the NHL in 1979-80, many WHA officials moved with them.
Dave Newell took the reigns in 1981, having the longest tenure lasting until 1988.
During a playoff game between the New Jersey Devils and the Boston Bruins in 1988, Devils head coach Jim Schoenfeld got into a verbal assault with referee Don Koharski. Schoenfeld received a one-game suspension. The Devils organization used the legal system to obtain an injunction allowing Schoenfeld to return behind the Devils bench for their next game.
Incensed that the suspension was overturned, the Officials threatened to strike. When they could not come to a mutual agreement, the Officials refused to officiate the next game. The NHL played the game anyway, using minor-league Officials as replacements. When the NHLOA refused to give in to the NHL’s threats of firing and fines, it only strengthened their resolve.
In the late 1980s and early 1990’s the NHL and professional sports began to see an exponential rise in player salaries; noticing this, the NHLOA under President Terry Gregson teamed up with the player’s agent Don Meehan who would bargain on their behalf for their next Collective Bargaining Agreement.
By the summer of 1992, Don Meehan had begun negotiating on behalf of the NHLOA, but progress was slow. By 1993 after negotiating all summer and officiating the first month of the NHL regular season, the NHLOA held a meeting in Toronto in November to get a strike mandate from its membership.
The decision was unanimous; the NHLOA felt that because of inaction on the part of the NHL that they needed to force the issue. The NHLOA members officiated the next game and then promptly went on strike.
The NHL immediately tried to put in place replacement officials to continue playing games.
This didn’t work as anticipated. Officials from the CAHA, USA Hockey, Major Junior Hockey, and various minor professional hockey leagues joined their NHL brethren in a collective effort to obtain a better CBA from the NHL.
This was a watershed moment for the NHLOA. With the support of officials from many different leagues, the NHLOA was able to secure a much-needed and greatly improved CBA, thus ending a 17-day strike.
The new agreement included upgrades in severance, pension, retirement, and playoff compensation.
In 1999, the league introduced the two-referees system, which resulted in membership jumping to 76 members and creating more jobs.
The Pay
The average NHL Referee salary is between $165,000 and $360,000. If a referee works more than 73 games in the regular season, he is compensated 1/73’d of his salary for each additional game. If a linesman works more than 75 games, he is compensated 1/75’h of his salary for each additional game. NHL linesmen earn between $110,000 and $235,000 per year.
Wes McCauley was voted the best NHL referee by the players after a poll conducted by the Associated Press in 2018.
Making the cut
The first step is to contact your local officiating governing body. Hockey Canada or USA Hockey. After that, it’s all about how hard you apply yourself.
Although you may possess the skill and determination, other factors can influence whether or not you secure employment. Being an old boys club, you will be susceptible to supervisors and officiating managers that will push for their favorite guy.
The NHL has increasingly shown a preference towards recruiting former players as they believe that they have a greater hockey sense, giving them a distinct advantage.
NHL officials must attend training camps, and the same trainers and conditioning coaches often lead that the players work with.
Typically taller referees are favored as they have the ability to look over the top of players when they have to break them up. It is a strict requirement to have a body fat of 10% or under. Every year potential hires are required to write a rules test at the pro and semi-pro levels. These tests are known as SRD format (State Referee Decision).
SRD exams are between 50 and 100 questions; each question is a scenario asking you how to step-by-step handle each situation, which penalties to apply, and where to resume the next face-off.
The Stress
You are expected to skate up and down the ice at top speed without ever taking a break or missing a call and making the right call in a split second, all the while you are under the microscope of millions of viewers, you must tune out angry fans and players and keep your composure.
Every morning, officials receive a personalized email from the league office detailing video clips of the night before. These clips contain performance critiques of the game before. In addition, they serve as a training tool going forward.
To be a professional referee, you must accept 20 or more days away from home every month, ten months of the year, living out of a suitcase endless travel, and standing in long lines at airports, officials do not have access to private planes.
Has a referee been assaulted by a player?
Yes! On March 13, 1955, in a game between the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadians at the Boston Gardens.
Former Montreal Canadian and then Boston Bruin defenceman Hal Laycoe high sticked Maurice “Rocket” Richard in the head during a Montreal power play opening a cut that required five stitches to close. Referee Frank Udvari signaled a delayed penalty. When the play stopped, Richard skated over to Laycoe, who already had dropped his gloves in anticipation of a fight, and slashed him in the face and shoulders with his stick. The linesmen attempted to restrain Richard, but each time Richard broke free and continued to attack Laycoe, this time breaking his stick over his body. Referee Cliff Thompson again tried to restrain Richard only to break free and punch Thompson in the face twice, knocking him out. Vince Lunny, a writer at the Montreal Herald, said Richard’s face looked like a “smashed tomato.” Richard received a match penalty and an automatic $100 fine; Laycoe has assessed a five-minute major penalty and a ten-minute misconduct for the high stick.
Boston police attempted to arrest Richard, but his Montreal teammates blocked the police from entering the dressing room. Boston Bruins management convinced the police that the league would handle the matter and that an arrest was unnecessary.
Richard would later be suspended for the rest of the regular season and all of the playoffs. The suspension sparked the March 17, 1955, Saint Patrick Day Riot.
Three months previous to this, Richard was fined $250 for slapping a linesman in the face in a game in Toronto.
Conclusion
The life of an NHL Official is not as glamorous as one might think. Although it can be financially rewarding it comes with a cost. Very little time for family life, stressful days traveling all across the country, waiting in endless lineups at airports, and the fact that it’s a thankless job where every decision you make is constantly scrutinized.
If you feel you have the right stuff then put on the stripes and get in the game.
