NHL Referee Suffers Bloody Cut to Face During Game 7 of Panthers-Leafs Series

Stephen Douglas | May 18, 2025

Chris Rooney suffered a cut when he was hit by a stick during Panthers-Leafs Game 7. / @GinoHard_

Referee Chris Rooney suffered a serious cut on his face when he was hit by an errant stick during Game 7 of the Florida Panthers-Toronto Maple Leafs series on Sunday night. Rooney was in the corner when he was hit in the face by Florida defenseman Niko Mikkola's stick as he moved the puck along the boards early in the second period.

Rooney immediately covered his face and went to the ice. He was attended to by the medical team before he was able to skate off the ice on his own holding a towel over the cut. Once the blood was cleaned off the ice and backup referee Garrett Rank came out of the dressing room to replace Rooney, the game continued.

Here's video:

Referee Chris Rooney took a follow-through from Niko Mikkola and needed assistance getting off the ice 🤕 pic.twitter.com/CsG1rBCO2B

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) May 19, 2025

Horrible scene in Toronto: NHL ref Chris Rooney had to leave Panthers-Maple Leafs Game 7 after taking a stick to the face along the boards.

"You just hope that the eye is not damaged." pic.twitter.com/9aPkDNhyfi

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) May 19, 2025

Rooney has been working with the NHL since the 1990s and has refereed over 1,400 regular season games in his career.

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