The teams have been cut from 16 to eight; the officiating roster has also been reduced from 44 to 24. Here are the stripes moving on to the second round of the National Hockey League postseason.
Here are the 12 NHL referees and 12 NHL linespersons chosen to work Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
Referees
Francis Charron, Gord Dwyer, Trevor Hanson, Jean Hebert, Pierre Lambert, T.J. Luxmore, Wes McCauley, Garrett Rank, Kyle Rehman, Chris Rooney, Graham Skilliter, and Kelly Sutherland.
Out from Round 1: Brandon Blandina, Jake Brenk, Eric Furlatt, Frederick L’Ecuyer, Peter MacDougall, Jon McIsaac, Kendrick Nicholson, Francois St. Laurent, Furman South, and Corey Syvret
First-Timers: None
Linespersons
Shandor Alphonso, Devin Berg, Scott Cherrey, Ryan Daisy, Julien Fournier, Ryan Gibbons, Trent Knorr, Matt MacPherson, Jesse Marquis, Bevan Mills, Kiel Murchison, and James Tobias
Out from Round 1: Tyson Baker, David Brisebois, Kyle Flemington, Travis Gawryletz, Kilian McNamara, CJ Murray, Jonny Murray, Andrew Smith, Libor Suchanek, and Travis Toomey
First-Timers: Julien Fournier
Splitting Pairs
Three ref pairs saw both officials advance: Hanson/Luxmore, Rank/Rehman, and Dwyer/Lambert. It’s interesting to note that all three have been split up for Round 2; they all have new partners.
Two pairings had neither official advance: Furlatt/Nicholson (LAK/COL G1, BOS/BUF G2, OTT/CAR G4, and ANA/EDM G5) and Brenk/St. Laurent (MTL/TBL G1, PHI/PIT G3, ANA/EDM G4, and UTA/VGK G5).
Career Numbers
Kelly Sutherland leads all active referees in playoff games worked (257*), ahead of Wes McCauley (226*), Dan O’Rourke (215), Eric Furlatt (195), and Chris Rooney (189*). Wes McCauley leads all active refs in Stanley Cup Final appearances (11) and is tied with Sutherland for the most Cup Final games worked (27).
Sutherland is fourth all-time in playoff games officiated, behind Bill McCreary (297), Don Koharski (266), and Kerry Fraser (254).
On the lines, the active leader for playoff games is Jonny Murray (207). He’s followed by Scott Cherrey (177*), Steve Barton (157), and Matt MacPherson (130*).
* Still active in the 2026 playoffs
Playoff Salaries
Officials get paid per round in the postseason, with referees earning $31,000 and linespersons $19,500. Standby referees earn $1000 for being on call, with an increase to $2,750 if they get into the game; linespersons on standby 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 NHL officials selected to work the opening round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs:
