Wes McCauley not officiating Conference or Stanley Cup Finals

Well-known official and perhaps one of the most hated referees among Leafs Nation, McCauley will not be featured in either of the Conference Finals matchups after suffering a hamstring injury at the end of the first round in Game 7 of the series between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars.

He made the cut for the second round of the playoffs but never appeared in a game, which explains why he wasn't even included in the last 2 rounds this time around. Eric Furlatt, Jean Hebert, Steve Kozari, Dan O'Rourke, Garrett Rank, Chris Rooney, Francois St. Laurent, and Kelly Sutherland were the chosen referees with Francis Charron, Kyle Rehman, and Graham Skilliter joining McCauley on the cut list.

It will be a veteran-filled lineup with 6 of the 8 referees having worked the Stanley Cup Finals in the past. However, the NHL will surely miss McCauley, who has worked 12 straight Conference Finals and 10 Stanley Cup Finals. Barring a miraculous comeback, he'll end the streak this year.

McCauley has bumped heads with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the past either with players like Michael Bunting or head coach Sheldon Keefe, but nothing was more off-putting than their 0-9 record in playoff games where he was one of the officials - including series clinching games in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022.