Who is Wes McCauley? All you need to know about the referee being accused of bias against Toronto Maple Leafs

Wes McCauley is a 51-year-old former hockey player from Georgetown, Ontario. He currently works as a referee in the NHL. McCauley played collegiate hockey at Michigan State before becoming an official. He also had a brief pro hockey career.

Wes McCauley's father, John McCauley, was also a well-known NHL official, which influenced Wes' desire to become a referee. He was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings with the 150th overall pick in 1990. However, McCauley didn't play a single game in the NHL.

Since being appointed as a full-time official in 2005, he's established himself as one of the top officials in the league. He's quite a popular figure among hockey fans and is known for his unique way of calling out signals.

McCauley became the talk of the town with his antics in Game 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Leafs fans criticized him online, blaming him for poor officiating. Toronto is currently 0-8 in playoff games officiated by McCauley.

More recently, McCauley faced the ire of Maple Leasfs fans when he failed to issue a penatly to the Boston Bruins' Brad Marchand for a hit on Timothy Liljegren.

The defenseman had to go off with a serious injury for the same.

A look at the officiating career of Wes McCauley

Due to an injury, Wes McCauley was forced to retire from the game of hockey in 1997.

Soon after retiring from his playing career, McCauley turned to officiating. He began officiating in the minor leagues and various minor games in Ontario.

His officiating career took a major leap when the NHL appointed him as an official in the second-tier American Hockey League (AHL). On Jan. 28, 2003, Wes McCauley officiated his first NHL game, a matchup between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Chicago Blackhawks.

He made his playoff debut during the 2007 Stanley Cup and has officiated over 1,000 NHL games in his career so far.