Murphy’s Hockey Law Ep. 9: Dave Jackson

In the latest Murphy’s Hockey Law Podcast, host Jimmy Murphy and producer Blake Thorne welcomed former NHL referee and current ESPN Rules Analyst Dave Jackson on the show to talk about his career leading up until now and much more!

Murphy’s Hockey Law Episode 9, featuring Dave Jackson, is out now!

1:00 – Dave dives into transitioning from NHL refereeing to becoming an ESPN Rules Analyst.

5:50 – Jimmy and Dave laugh about how Jimmy has reached out about controversial refereeing calls through text messages.

9:30 – Dave speaks on how the game of hockey was back when he first started refereeing in the late 80s.

Dave: “The game was different. It was not like today…when you see a penalty, you are expected to call it. Back then, it was a much more, let’s flow unless it’s an axe murder, unless the guy gets hooked around the neck and there’s blood. I mean, you’d play on, right? You could kind of get away with missing a call or two.”

12:10 – Dave speaks on the players he has dealt with often during his refereeing days.

Dave: “I got to tell you something about Brad Marchand. As many headaches as he caused us, always starting something or whatever. He was always respectful to us…I never had an issue with Brad Marchand. He always had a funny one-liner. I got along great with him.”

15:00 – Dave speaks on the relationship he developed with Patrice Bergeron over the years of refereeing him.

Dave: “He really is as good a person as everyone says he was. To have a guy like him on the ice that you can go to and say “listen, I need your help with this guy or with that guy.” And it’s like, (Patrice:) “Done Dave, thanks for letting me know, I’ll take care of it,” and that’s the way he operated.”

18:00 – Dave speaks on how he dealt with players that take on fighter roles versus the other play styles during his refereeing days.

19:10 – Dave speaks on his experience refereeing the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

23:50 – Dave speaks on how broadcasting for 3ICE has been going and gives Jimmy and Blake the rundown on how the new summer hockey league operates.

30:10 – Dave tells a story from when he started refereeing and a group of angry parents attacked him.

Dave: “I got jumped and sucker-punched by about 15 parents coming out of a rink when I was 17…It was very scary, and I quit.”

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