"I don’t think he’s faking it": When Nathan MacKinnon used a LeBron James analogy to explain his stance against NHL's play stoppage rules

By R. Nikhil Parshy

Modified Apr 17, 2025 08:46 GMT

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Back in 2019, Nathan MacKinnon and his Colorado Avalanche team were furious after a call by the on-ice officials in a game against the Vancouver Canucks. Avs forward Matt Calvert got injured but since Canucks had possession the officials, deeming the injury wasn't major enough for a stoppage, and the play continued resulting in a goal for the Canucks.

The incident occurred with 2:52 to go in the third period. Canucks' Elias Pettersson shot the puck from center ice with Calvert scrambling to block it. The puck hit his face hard and he fell to the ice immediately in pain with blood coming out from the left side of his head.

As per NHL rules, there can only be a stoppage in play if the officials feel there has been a grave injury to the head or any other part of the body. During this particular play, no such stoppage was called and the Canucks would eventually make it a one-goal game and then force overtime.

After the game an incensed Nathan MacKinnon would fire back at the referees using NBA legend LeBron James' analogy as an example to substantiate his point. He argued against the NHL's rulebook while also stating that Calvert was not faking his injury.

“I can only imagine if that was LeBron James, his head was bleeding and they let the other team take a three-pointer to tie the game,” MacKinnon had said. “I know it’s not the ref’s fault, it’s the league rule, but I think you need to look and who’s laying on the ice.”

“I don’t think he’s faking it trying to get a whistle,” MacKinnon said.

NHL officials tried to explain their argument about the stoppage rule

With so much heat surrounding the incident, it was on the league to put out statements backing the decision. At the General Manager meetings held in November right after the incident, then Director of Officiating Stephen Walkhom stated that the severity of the injury didn't depend on bleeding.

"I don't think it's blood. I think it's more. ... If you see a player get a wicked stick to the head or a puck to the face, you can get a good sense from the players around him and how the player is acting on the ice," Walkom said. "We don't want players that are seriously hurt on the ice. We want to kill the play. That was just an unfortunate situation in that game."

Furthermore, Colin Campbell, then vice president of league's hockey operations, also showed concern that while they took cognizance of serious injuries, ammending the law would lead to further problems league-wide where players would try to get stoppages in play more often.

"We're always concerned with the competitive aspect of games. We're always worried about how competitively [teams] will take rules and use them. It's no different when a player embellishes an injury," Campbell said. "In that situation, we all agree there should have been a quick judgment there."

Recurring injuries like this eventually took a toll on Calvert's career, as he retired at the ripe age of 31. He scored 203 points in 566 regular season games across 10 NHL seasons.