Mick McGeough, NHL referee for 21 seasons and former Spokane player, dies at 62

REGINA, Saskatchewan – Former NHL referee Mick McGeough has died at 62.

The NHL said in a statement Saturday that McGeough died Friday night in Regina. A page set up on the Go Fund Me website to support his family said he had a stroke a week ago.

McGeough worked 21 seasons from 1987 through 2008, refereeing 1,083 regular-season games and 63 playoff games. He was one of the last referees to officiate without a helmet. Most recently, he worked as an NHL officiating supervisor.

McGeough played in Spokane with the junior Flames during 1975-76 when he was 19. He also appeared in nine games for the senior Flyers that season, collecting three assists and four penalty minutes. According to the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame, he started officiating four years later as a linesman in the WHL before switching to referee.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called him “one of the league’s top referees” whose “passion for the game shone through on a nightly basis.” Bettman added in a statement that McGeough earned leaguewide respect for his “unique style that that combined humility and humor with decisiveness and fairness.”

He is survived by his wife, Angie, and five children – Jared, Luke, Kara, Karlie and Isaac.