A Calgary judge says a lawsuit against the Calgary Flames and their former defenceman Dennis Wideman should be handled by the NHL and not the courts.
Don Henderson was officiating a game between the Flames and Nashville Predators more than two years ago when he was hit in the back by Wideman.
Henderson left the game and hasn’t refereed a game since.
He sued the team and Wideman for more than 10 million dollars saying he could no longer work because of his injuries.
Henderson says he suffered permanent back and shoulder problems, a bad concussion and depression after that hit.
However the judge said the league has the right to deal with this itself.
The judge said Henderson can’t sue because the NHL constitution says any dispute between players, coaches or referees should be handled by arbitrators and that everyone agrees to that when they join the league.
Henderson’s lawyers argued that was never clear to officials saying referees and linesmen were never explicitly told that was their only avenue of recourse saying that shouldn’t be the case here.
The lawyers also stated the NHL’s arbitrator is Gary Bettman and he ruled on this before when he suspended Wideman after that hit.
Henderson’s lawyers are also concerned the arbitrator works for the league and owners who are being sued but the judge says that can’t be determined ahead of time and the arbitration process needs to be the first step and if there are concerns then they can attempt to take it to court.
It’s expected the case will get pushed back to the NHL and commissioner Gary Bettman.
An arbitrator has the right to award damages as well and Henderson’s legal team also has the right to appeal this but they haven’t decided on that yet.
(With files from Chris Epp)
