Marc Joanette retiring after memorable officiating career
Last night, referee Marc Joannette worked in his final National Hockey League game after 25 years of service. The Verdun, QC native jumped onto the Bell Centre ice for the last time as he refereed the original six matchup between the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens.
Joannette, who made his NHL debut back on October 1, 1999 at Buffalo’s Marine Midland Arena, left the ice yesterday after having worked in 1,520 NHL regular season games, as well as 170 NHL playoff games.
During his time with the NHL, Joannette was assigned to several important assignments including – the 2004 World Cup of Hockey, the 2008 Winter Classic, the 2009 NHL All-Star Game, the 2010 Winter Olympics, the 2014 Stadium Series, the 2017 Centennial Classic, as well as three Stanley Cup Finals in 2008, 2009 and 2018.
Prior to reaching the world’s top circuit, Joannette made his mark in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He first worked as a linesman for three years, totalling 81 regular season games and six playoff matchups between the 1987-88 and 1989-90 campaigns.
Joannette turned into a QMJHL referee prior to the 1990-91 regular season and would wear the orange stripes for the next eight years. As a QMJHL referee, Joannette gained some valuable experience by working in over 250 regular season games and more than 30 postseason matchups.
A proud ambassador of the QMJHL for over three decades, we would like to thank Marc for his contributions to the game and congratulate him on such a wonderful career!
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(Photo: LNH.com)
