With the NHL season inching closer to its most electrifying end, fans and spectators await that puck to drop for one last time that turns the goal into a ride of dreams for the franchises reaching so close to achieving their glory! And it is after months of hustle and intense matchups that we have seen some of the buzzer-beaters and the fiercest battles on ice. Probably with a bit of poor officiating too! However, with the anticipation rising and the air carrying the vibes of the Stanley Cup Finals, the NHL has come up with its final list of not the players, of course, but of those who blow the whistles and keep things in check!
And with that, a few names made the headlines for not making it to that list. Who? Well, Renaud Lavoie has the answer: “The NHL officials list for the playoffs is now known and Chris Lee is not part of it this year,” the post read. Now this indeed sent shockwaves across the hockey community, because fans have already been requesting the league to eliminate Lee and have even signed petitions regarding the same! But why exactly?
Let’s throw back to 2021. Now, that was one year that still makes the Montreal Canadiens fans roll their eyes while they clench their fists during the Stanley Cup semifinal against the Vegas Golden Knights. They called it the worst-officiated series in the presence of Lee when the breaking point occured–Habs forward Nick Suzuki took a clear punch to the face from the opponent’s player Brayden McNabb, and no penalty was called! “It’s adversity that teams need to face in the playoffs. Good teams will find a way to go through it. Just have to battle through it. Find a way,” said Jonathan Marchessault while calling the officiating a bad one in the post-match interview.
This even sparked outrage from fans and individuals across media panels, including former NHL players, followed by a wave of petitions that demanded Lee’s removal from the league. After all, it was the kind of officiating that left fans questioning the integrity of the game! And to point out some recent instances, it was Lee yet again catching the hot seat in one of the games between the Canadiens and the Vancouver Canucks this season. Despite the Canadiens defeating the Canucks with 4-2, the drama continued. But not with the players; rather, it was in the officiating of Lee, who stirred up a storm of frustration with many questionable calls and flat-out misses!
The NHL officials list for the playoffs is now known and Chris Lee is not part of it this year.
— Renaud Lavoie (@renlavoietva) April 19, 2025
And for the Habs fans? Well, it has been too much, but that didn’t stop them from trolling the referee. Yes, trolling has been continuing for Lee since 2022 now, and if you are an older fan of hockey, try recalling the cheeky days when arena organists would play Three Blind Mice after a bad call, and now? It’s just full-blown internet roasting! And it won’t be surprising to note that out of nearly 44,000 negative posts aimed at NHL officials that year, half of them targeted Lee–a whopping 54.1% of all mentions—and here we are in 2025, with fans still carrying that frustration loud and clear across timelines and comment sections. But this time on a happy note!
NHL fans haven’t stopped trolling him yet!
It continued after the moment Lavoie dropped the bombshell on X! And fans wasted no time celebrating Chris Lee’s absence from the NHL playoffs. After all, it’s been years of frustration that all piled up and now came pouring out. With this one fan didn’t hold back while saying, “He shouldn’t be an NHL ref.” Followed by another one who chimed in with some kind of blunt honesty: “Good he’s terrible and biased.” Now this time it’s a sense of relief.
But the reactions didn’t just stop there; many posted sarcasm too! Yes, one among the many added with a punch of irony, “its all the worst of the worst refs of course.” And then comes the unique one, perhaps trying to express real emotion by sharing a GIF of a man praying. And the captain? “thank you sweet baby jesus.” Okay, now they indeed took it to the next level!
And summing it all up was a comment that probably echoed what the entire league had been screaming all these years: “Finally what everyone knew fur long time they finally GM figured it.” As much as it was a late-season officiating update that turned into a cathartic celebration online, it was more about some long-standing controversies and the petitions that made it all happen. And with that, the season comes to an end for Chris Lee already!
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