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NHL referee Wes McCauley has a conflict of interest with Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Before McCauley and Keefe were anywhere near the NHL, the two were aware of one another and were on opposite ends of a lawsuit.
Dave Frost, the brother-in-law of McCauley was a former junior coach turned NHL player agent. However, he was accused of sexually assaulting a number of underage hockey players, including Mike Danton, who sued Frost.
During the lawsuit, Danton's lifelong friend Sheldon Keefe testified against Frost as he took the stand in court against McCauley's brother-in-law. Keefe was a member of the hockey team that Danton alleged was sexually assaulted by Frost.
Ultimately, Frost was acquitted of the charges and Danton was subsequently arrested and convicted for conspiring to murder the former coach.
After Sheldon Keefe became the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach, the history between him and referee Wes McCauley came up.
The NHL has said there is no proof that McCaule has treated Keefe and the Leafs unfairly. However, on Thursday, the ref missed a blatant dirty trip by Brad Marchand that left Keefe stunned.
“I got nothing. He just didn’t see the stick go in between his legs, a can opener, and you can go feet first into the boards in the most dangerous area of the ice."
McCauley, meanwhile, has still been able to ref Maple Leafs games, so the NHL doesn't think he is biased.
Sheldon Keefe says McCauley is treating him fairly
Although some Toronto Maple Leafs fans have been vocal in thinking Wes McCauley is biased towards Keefe, the coach says that isn't the case.
"Not at all," Keefe said. "Officials don't have any impact on the game and it's not my focus but Wes has treated me like a true professional the whole time I've been in this league and I've been very appreciative of that."
However, Toronto is 0-8 in the playoffs, including being 0-4 in Games 7s when McCauley is reffing Maple Leaf games so perhaps there's something there.
