NHL Excludes Three Respected Referees from the Playoffs
The NHL Playoffs are set to begin today and the league has come through with a list of referees who will be participating. As it turns out, some big names are missing.
There is going to be a lot of attention on the National Hockey League this weekend as the playoffs are officially about to begin.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans are especially excited about the postseason as the Leafs look to take on the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the playoffs.
However, one thing that fans are interested in are the officials. Referees haven't always been kind to the Leafs and there is one official in particular that fans do not want to see.
NHL Playoffs get huge crop of referees
Below, you can see full the full list of referees that will be working during the NHL Playoffs. As you can see, there are some massive names here.
Jake Brenk, Francis Charron, Gord Dwyer, Eric Furlatt, Trevor Hanson, Jean Hebert, Frederick L'Ecuyer, Pierre Lambert, T.J. Luxmore, Peter MacDougall, Wes McCauley, Jon McIsaac, Kendrick Nicholson, Dan O'Rourke, Brian Pochmara, Garrett Rank, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Graham Skilliter, Francois St. Laurent, Furman South, and Kelly Sutherland.
Of course, Wes McCauley is on the list. He is notorious to Leafs fans considering the team has an 0-9 playoff record when he is officiating.
Interestingly, Steve Kozari, Chris Lee and Tom Chmielewski are three referees who will not be participating in the playoffs this year despite being part of them last year.
According to Maple Leafs Daily, Kozari is going through an injury and that is why he won't be able to participate.
Whatever the case may be, the Leafs are in a good spot to go on a deep run and they shouldn't concern themselves with who the referees are.
Worrying about these kinds of things is absolutely setting you up for failure.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 19 | 293 ANSWERS NHL Excludes Three Respected Referees from the Playoffs Do you believe the referees make that much of a difference in the NHL? | ||
| YES | 246 | 84 % |
| NO | 47 | 16 % |
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