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Mason Marchment at Risk of Suspension After Controversial Incident With Referee

Originally posted on Blade of Steel | By Jack Sutherland | Last updated May 11, 2025 9:44 PM ET

Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment could be hearing from the NHL after his blatant contact with a referee with his stick went unpunished.

The good news for the Dallas Stars is that they've re-taken a 1-game lead over the Winnipeg Jets, winning 5-2 in today's Game 3 in Dallas.

The bad news is that they could potentially be without forward Mason Marchment for the next game or perhaps even longer if the NHL wants to make an example out of him.

During the game, Marchment deliberately whacked referee Graham Skilliter with his stick out of frustration when his team wasn't given a power play after he felt he was infracted upon twice.

Not only did the Skilliter not even react to the incident, but Marchment wasn't even penalized. That could change if the NHL decides to take action after the fact.

The Sportsnet panel discussed the incident, with former NHL goaltender Kelly Hrudey categorizing Marchment's actions as being completely over the line and unacceptable.

You can't make contact with an official under any circumstances. You can be as frustrated as humanly possible, but you can't contact them.

Kevin Bieksa, a former NHL defenseman, pointed out that his former Anaheim Ducks teammate Antoine Vermette was banned by the League for 10 games after a similar incident took place during a 2017 game.

I've seen this, I had a teammate whack the referee. one of the nicest, most gentlemanly teammates ever. And he got a 10 game suspension for that. It's clear it's a chop on the ref.

This article first appeared on Blade of Steel and was syndicated with permission.

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