The sixteen teams are set for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, and so are the officials. Here are the 20 NHL Referees and 20 NHL Linesmen chosen to officiate the National Hockey League postseason:
Referees
Jake Brenk, Francis Charron, Gord Dwyer, Eric Furlatt, Trevor Hanson, Jean Hebert, Steve Kozari, Frederick L’Ecuyer, Chris Lee, T.J. Luxmore, Wes McCauley, Jon McIsaac, Kendrick Nicholson, Dan O’Rourke, Kevin Pollock, Garrett Rank, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Graham Skilliter, and Kelly Sutherland.
First-Timers: Kendrick Nicholson
Returning from Prior Seasons: Francis Charron (injured in 2022)
Out from 2022: Brian Pochmara, Francois St. Laurent (injured)
Standby Refs: Tom Chmielewski, Brian Pochmara
Linesmen
Shandor Alphonso, Steve Barton, Devin Berg, David Brisebois, Scott Cherrey, Michel Cormier, Kyle Flemington, Brandon Gawryletz, Travis Gawryletz, Ryan Gibbons, Brad Kovachik, Matt MacPherson, Jesse Marquis, Bevan Mills, Kiel Murchison, Jonny Murray, Bryan Pancich, Andrew Smith, Libor Suchanek, and James Tobias
First-Timers: Kyle Flemington, Travis Gawryletz, Jesse Marquis, James Tobias
Returning from Prior Seasons: Michel Cormier
Out from 2022: Ryan Daisy (injury), Ryan Galloway, Trent Knorr, Derek Nansen, Mark Shewchyk,
Standby Officials: Trent Knorr, Mark Shewchyk
First-Timers
Referee Kendrick Nicholson is working his first Stanley Cup Playoffs, as are linesmen Kyle Flemington, Travis Gawryletz, Jesse Marquis, and James Tobias.
Who’s Missing
Injuries have sidelined referees Francois St. Laurent and Ian Walsh, as well as linesman Ryan Daisy.
Referees not taking part in this year’s playoffs include: Brandon Blandina, Mitch Dunning, Ghislain Hebert, Pierre Lambert, Peter MacDougall, Michael Markovic, Chris Schlenker, Furman South, Justin St. Pierre, Corey Syvret, and the recently-retired Marc Joannette.
Linesmen out of the postseason include Caleb Apperson, Tyson Baker, Jonathan Deschamps, Julien Fournier, Kilian McNamara, C.J. Murray, Ben O’Quinn, James Tobias, and Travis Toomey.
Officials splitting time between the AHL and NHL – referees Reid Anderson, Cody Beach, Beau Halkidis, Justin Kea, Morgan MacPhee, Conor O’Donnell, Jordan Samuels-Thomas, Carter Sandlak, and Brandon Schrader, along with linesmen Mitchell Hunt, Ryan Jackson, Justin Johnson, Dan Kelly, and Joseph Mahon – are also off the playoff roster.
Playoff Salaries
Officials get paid per round in the postseason, with referees earning $27,000 and linesmen $17,250. Standby referees earn $1000 for being on call, with an increase to $2,750 if they get into the game; linesmen pick up a $650 check which bumps to $1,775 if they take the ice.
As in previous seasons, the league will cut down on the pool of officials after each round of the playoffs. The crew will be cut to 12 referees and 12 linesmen for Round 2.
