"What Were the Refs Thinking?": Former NHL Referee Dave Jackson on Arber Xhekaj’s Flyers Penalty Controversy

Published: Nov 1, 2024, 11:21 AM
4 min read
Updated: Jul 8, 2025, 12:00 PM
Fact checked by:
Sergey Demidov
Arber Xhekaj #72 of the Montreal Canadiens

Arber Xhekaj #72 of the Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

 

A lot is being made about what happened Sunday evening between Montreal Canadiens defenseman Arber Xhekaj and Philadelphia Flyers forward Sean Couturier and defenseman Nick Seeler. After a scrum ensued between Xhekaj and Couturier, Seeler jumped in as the third man and began throwing punches as well. However, Xhekaj was the only player for whom the referees assessed a penalty. Unfairly or not, that was the outcome of the play.  

That left many people wondering why Xhekaj was the only one being penalized. Was this based on reputation, or did Xhekaj actually commit an infraction? Former NHL referee and current ESPN Dave Jackson told RG he does not think the penalty assessed to Arber Xhekaj was based on reputation.  

"I would sure hope not," Jackson said. "I mean, you know a player's reputation if you have been in the league for a long time. The last thing you want to do, though, is treat that player unfairly."  

It was a delicate situation involving Xhekaj, Couturier, and Seeler because, as social media does, the situation gets overblown. Many people thought Seeler got a “Third Man In” penalty because Xhekaj and Couturier took their gloves off to fight. Just because the players took their gloves does not mean a penalty should be called. There is no penalty for dropping your gloves.

However, the referees determined it to be a scrum, not a fight, so nothing was called. For a “Third Man In” penalty to be assessed, it must be associated with a fight, where five-minute majors are assessed. Thus, in the case of Xhekaj, he was the only player to get a penalty. Jackson believes the referees assessed a penalty to Xhekaj because he stopped the play looking for a fight after a clean hit preceded everything.  

"I'm not saying the referees couldn't have called the minor penalty on either Couturier or Seeler for unsportsmanlike conduct. That's certainly an option, and it probably would have saved a lot of complaining, a lot of head-scratching and all that," Jackson continued. "But again, going back to the question, what were the referees thinking? And in my best guess, the referee thought a clean hit was made. Xhekaj went after the player, making the clean hit and challenged him to fight, causing a stoppage of play. If he doesn't do that, we just keep playing. And the referee decided the Montreal player caused everything. He's getting an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty."

In his short career in Montreal, Arber Xhekaj has been a physical force on the Canadiens defense. He has had his fair share of altercations and fights in his short career. However, what happened Sunday night

"From what I have heard, I still know guys in the League. Xhekaj is a stand-up guy, a class act. He stands up for his teammates," Jackson said. "He seems to be a really good guy. I mean, I don't think anybody would have it out for him. It just wouldn't make sense. He's a good standup guy and a clean hockey player. He's not dirty whatsoever."

Reporter

Having 10 years of experience (SiriusXM NHL Network Radio, Rod Pedersen Show, Raw Mike Richards Show, and more) covering the Devils, the NHL along with College Football, the NFL, and the tennis circuit Jim Biringer has wealth of sports knowledge. As one of Jim's hockey coaches put it he is a "student of the game." During his time as a sports reporter, Biringer has covered some of the biggest events including most recently the 2024 Stanley Cup Final along with several NHL Drafts. He is also the host of the Full Press Hockey Podcast and Final Word on Hockey plus Around Campus - The College Football Podcast.

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Daria Tuboltseva
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Daria went to St. Petersburg State University and earned a bachelor of international journalism. Working as a sports journalist from 2014, from 2016 as a hockey journalist. Covered 5 World Championships, 2022 Winter Olympics, 2020 World Juniors, 6 Gagarin Cup Finals. 

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