This NHL season has brought with it a hefty amount of good news. The 2022–23 NHL season has seen players, coaches, and now, even the referees achieve amazing feats that are worth celebrating. These noteworthy achievements have also brought the rivals together. One such odd pair that often finds themselves on opposite sides are the New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens. In fact, they have not really looked eye-to-eye.

They both belong to the first six teams to go head-to-head in NHL in 1930. Furthermore, their games have a tendency to go into overtime. These facts are enough to demonstrate how rooted and driven such a rival relationship is that has transgressed across decades. If the competition is this fierce, then the coaches of these teams would naturally be rivals as well. But on this special occasion, both of them came together.

Rival coaches unite for a heartfelt gesture to NHL referee

Referees in any game are usually not fan or team favorites. However, Marc Joannette, the Canadian referee, recently became famous in the NHL community for achieving something truly amazing. Joannette just completed 1500 games as a referee. And to celebrate this, the Rangers and the Canadiens came together to pay tribute to the legendary referee.

Martin St. Louis, head coach for the Montreal Canadiens, and Gerard Gallant, head coach for the New York Rangers both belong to rival teams. Not only this, they have had their fair share of disagreements and controversies with the referees. This is why it is surprising that they both forgot their personal biases to honor referee Marc Joanette who officiated his 1,500th NHL game that was held between the Canadiens and the Rangers.

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The coaches presented a team jersey to Joanette with his name inscribed on the back. In the video, Joanette is seen thanking both coaches individually, and saying, “That’s too much guys. Thank you so much guys.” Marc Joannette ends his career after 24 years as a referee at NHL. His first game as a referee was on October 1, 1999, and he will soon retire on April 4. His career was a memorable one.

Hockey will bid an emotional goodbye to a great referee

The 54-year-old Verdun native will bid goodbye to his career as an NHL referee on April 4, when Detroit visits the Canadiens. Joannette started his career at the young age of 14. He started attending a referee camp and worked his way up through the Lac St. Louis region. Then, he went on to make his debut in the QMJHL when he was just 18 years old. He spent 11 years there. During his stint at QMJHL, Joannette’s true potential was discovered and he was admitted into the NHL’s five-year apprenticeship program.

He was tasked with handling up to 120 games each season in the AHL, IHL, and Quebec junior league. Ultimately, he refereed his first professional NHL game in 1999. In 2002, he made his playoff debut. He was also a part of the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in Montreal and saw over three Stanley Cup finals. Joannette also refereed the World Cup of Hockey in 2004 and the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. He considers this to be the highlight of his career.

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