The NHL gets sued by one of their referees!

The NHL is facing an unusual lawsuit this season, and it has nothing to do with players, contracts, or teams. Instead, the spotlight is on officiating as former AHL referee Chris Rumble, who is 35 years old, has filed a lawsuit against the league, alleging that he was denied an NHL officiating job because of his age.

Rumble, a former AHL player who later transitioned into officiating, attended the NHL’s annual Exposure Combine back in 2022. Designed to identify future officials, the program led to him working in the USHL in 2022–23, then moving up to the AHL the following year. According to Rumble, his career trajectory appeared promising, until age became a sticking point.

Despite receiving positive reviews from league managers, Rumble said he was repeatedly told his age worked against him. In the 2023–24 season, he missed out on an assignment in the Calder Cup playoffs, but he told that it was because this was his first year in the league. Yet another first-year referee, Brody Sutter, a year and a half younger, advanced.

When Rumble questioned the decision, he says league officials downplayed concerns about age discrimination, only for the issue to resurface again. In June 2025, after the NHL hired 30-year-old Ben Betker to fill its lone referee opening, Rumble reached out to NHL officiating manager Stephen Walkom Edwards. According to court filings provided by Scouting the Refs, Edwards told him bluntly:

“You couldn’t have done anything different, other than maybe be five years younger.”

That statement, along with positive performance feedback he had received in the past, sparked the lawsuit.

Rumble is now seeking damages, including back pay, lost benefits, and compensatory and punitive awards. He has requested a jury trial.

With his officiating career on hold, Rumble has already moved on, at least for now, joining the ECHL’s Worcester Railers as an assistant coach for the 2025–26 season.

Whether his lawsuit changes how the NHL approaches hiring referees remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: Rumble isn’t staying quiet about what he believes cost him a shot at the NHL.