A Dougie Hamilton clearing attempt struck referee Chris Rooney in the right hand during the second period of Saturday’s game between the Bruins and Maple Leafs. Rooney left the game briefly before returning to his post for the third period, although he reportedly suffered two broken fingers.
Luckily, Rooney appears to have avoided serious injury. He wasn’t so lucky during the 2011 NHL Playoffs, when he suffered a broken fibula after stumbling behind the net in the second period of a game between the Capitals and Rangers.
Rooney’s near-misfortune on this Saturday night lead us to look back at several of the more infamous injuries NHL officials have suffered over the years.
Rooney takes a slap shot to the neck
Rooney, who is no stranger to injuries, took a Jamie Oleksiak slap shot to the neck during a game between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche in February of 2013.
Marc Joannette takes a Dion Phaneuf shot to the mouth
Marc Joannette received a puck to the face during the 2012-13 season, but he returned to action a couple of weeks later despite losing a few teeth and requiring stitches.
“I wanted to go right back out there, but the doctor said I couldn’t,” Joannette told the Edmonton Journal in 2013. “I had a hole there (around his lip that needed to be stitched) and I couldn’t blow the whistle.”
Pierre Racicot sets a pick
Solid play here as Pierre Racicot sets a pick and draws the charge… no, wait… that’s basketball. Racicot, a linesman, accidentally sets a pick which leads to a Los Angeles Kings goal versus the New Jersey Devils in Game 6 of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final. Ouch.
Pat DePuzzo nearly lost his nose
A very scary incident during a Rangers-Flyers game in 2008 saw linesman Pat DaPuzzo take a Steve Downie skate to his face, which severed his nose. DaPuzzo, bloodied, attempted to continue doing his job as a brawl broke out.
“The doctors sewed my nose back on,” Dapuzzo told the New York Times in 2011. “It took more than 40 stitches. My left eye drooped, and that really was an alarm for the doctors. I told them I wanted to go back and finish the game. The doctors said I had multiple facial fractures. One told me, ‘If you go back on the ice, you are going to die.’ Honestly, it wasn’t until then that I had any idea how serious this was.”
Linesman Steve Barton takes a bump
Steve Barton found himself between a rushing Alexander Sulzer and the boards during a game between the Colorado Avalanche and Nashville Predators back in 2010.
(Ed. Note: Don Van Massenhoven was hit in the face with a deflected puck during a Devils and Panthers game in 2005. Van Massenhoven underwent surgery involving plates and screws to help repair the damage he sustained to both orbital bones. Video was not immediately available, and we’re all probably better off without it.)
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