Pavelich, 1st linesman elected to Hockey Hall of Fame, dies at 92

Matt Pavelich, enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987 in the Referee/Linespersons category, died on Friday at age 92. His death was reported on social media by his son, Mark, who said that Pavelich was “surrounded by the people who loved him” at the end.

The first linesman inducted into the Hall of Fame, the category expanded in 1987 to include linesmen along with referees, Pavelich officiated in the NHL for 23 seasons, his body of work totaling 1,727 regular-season games as a linesman and 14 more as a referee, another 245 games worked in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Born March 12, 1934 in Parkhill, Ontario, Pavelich worked the 1957 and 1958 Stanley Cup Finals, and then 19 consecutive Finals between 1961-79 for a total of 56 Cup Final games.

Famously, Pavelich and late Montreal Canadiens goalie Ken Dryden worked the final games of their careers on May 21, 1979, Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Canadiens’ 4-1 victory against the New York Rangers gave Montreal the 22nd of its 24 championships to date.

Matt Pavelich in an undated portrait, early in his career, and in a photo with the Hall of Fame’s Class of 1987: Bob Clarke, John Ziegler and Eddie Giacomin from left in the back row, Pavelich and Jacques Laperriere in the front.

Pavelich and Dryden were firmly connected by the final siren of that game, and by a rolling puck that was headed toward the glove of the 1983 Hall of Fame-bound goalie as the celebrations began in the Forum.

This was the sixth Stanley Cup title for Dryden in his seven full Canadiens seasons, with him having won his first after just six regular-season games in 1970-71.

What Dryden didn’t know at that instant was that this was also the final NHL game for Pavelich.

Dryden wanted the puck as a final souvenir, but so did Pavelich. The goalie surrendered it to the veteran linesman, but with a survivor’s understanding. If Pavelich were to survive Dryden, he would keep the puck forever. If Dryden were to survive Pavelich, the puck would come back to him.

Linesman Matt Pavelich steps between Toronto’s Bob Pulford and the Canadiens’ Terry Harper during a 1966 scuffle at the Montreal Forum.

As it turned out, Pavelich would keep the puck, which presumably will remain with his family. Dryden died on Sept. 5, 2025, after a battle with cancer.

On the red carpet of the Hall of Fame, arriving to celebrate the Class of 2018, Pavelich, then 84, laughed about the understanding he had with Dryden.

“Yes, I still have that puck, and I just moved it in the house from where it was,” he told NHL.com. “I hid it because my wife throws things out all the time. It’s not on display, it’s hidden away.”

Pavelich said he didn’t have an inventory of the number of pucks in his collection.

Matt Pavelich early in his career in a portrait taken at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

“My son, when he was in maybe the seventh grade, used to take them and sell them,” he said, laughing again. “I’d go to school to a parent-teacher thing and the teacher would say, ‘Oh, I bought two pucks from your son.’”

Pavelich still cherished memories of his own 1987 induction night, enshrined with players Bob Clarke, Jacques Laperriere and the late Eddie Giacomin, as well as John Ziegler, the late NHL president who was inducted as in the Builders category.

“It was in Detroit. I had all my family there, which was great,” he said. “My older brother, Marty, who played for the Detroit Red Wings (from 1947-57), was there.”

Marty Pavelich died in 1994 at age 96.

Mark Pavelich remembered his father in a Facebook post on Friday, saying, “To us, he was simply Dad. He was a husband to my mother, Dragica, a father, a grandfather, and a man who would light up any room. Somewhere along the way he even got himself and Mom invited to Studio 54 during an All-Star trip to New York.

Matt Pavelich watches Toronto’s David Keon test Boston Bruins goalie Don Head during a 1961 game at Maple Leaf Gardens.

“He taught me that respect is earned, that you call it the way you see it, and that you never back down from doing the right thing. I carried those lessons into every fight, every event and every business I have ever built.”

The Hockey Hall of Fame’s biography published upon his induction related Pavelich serving as referee-in-chief of the Northern Michigan Intermediate League by the time he was 20, having worked minor hockey games since age 14.

Pavelich’s work in the American Hockey League in 1955-56 so impressed NHL referee-in-chief Carl Voss that he was promoted to the NHL by the next season, making his debut on Oct. 11, 1956.

While his older brother Marty had been with the Red Wings as a player since 1947, the pair was the first such unique tandem in the NHL.

Matt Pavelich on the Hockey Hall of Fame’s red carpet before the Class of 2017 induction ceremonies.

“Matt's inauguration into the officials' ranks was particularly unpleasant during a game at the Detroit Olympia in 1956,” the Hall of Fame wrote. “Red Wings fans had a penchant for throwing octopi on the ice, and this game was no exception. But Pavelich, as the junior of the three officials, was responsible for clearing the ice of the heavy, ugly creature, a task he performed with requisite disgust while his colleagues enjoyed themselves at his expense.”

Pavelich was once knocked cold while breaking up a fight between Lou Fontinato of the Canadiens and Earl Ingarfield of the Rangers. He stepped into a haymaker from Fontinato and was out like a light. When he was revived by the trainer, smelling salts being waved under his nose, all he could hear was Fontinato and Ingarfield arguing over who should get credit for the knockout.

Following his retirement from active officiating, Pavelich served eight more years as a Supervisor of Officials, his service to the NHL ending following the 1993-94 season after 38 years.

Top photo: Matt Pavelich in an undated portrait.