May 11, 2025: Stars forward Mason Marchment avoided a penalty and suspension for slashing referee Graham Skilliter after the Dallas forward was tripped up with no call.
More on the incident – and the rule, including why there was no automatic suspension for abuse of officials – at Scouting the Refs: https://scoutingtherefs.com/2025/05/48713/stars-marchment-slashes-ref-avoids-suspension/
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2 Comments
First of all, Marchment did not slash, or wack, the ref. He tapped him. BIG DIFFERENCE.
And it certainly doesn’t warrant any kind of punishment. If the ref is that delicate, maybe he shouldn’t be in the game.
1) At least the refs apply the same standard to abuse of referee as they do calling player infractions late in games.
2) It’s crazy the NHL still leaves this stuff up to the ref rather than it being a league decision. Made sense back when the NHL needed to wait for a horse to deliver the paper game report to HQ.