Dean Warren is a former ice hockey official, best known for working in the National Hockey League.

NHL career

In April 2008, Warren was fired by the NHL for what the league said was "substandard performance". Warren had not worked in the playoffs after the 2006 season, which gave the league the right to release him from his contract through the union's collective bargaining agreement. He claimed that when he became the Vice-President of the NHL Officials Association in 2006, he noticed "league bias against him". A year before his termination, e-mails were sent during an exchange between

Stephen Walkom Stephen Walkom (born August 8, 1963) currently serves as vice president and director of officiating for the National Hockey League (NHL). This is his second stint in that position, having previously served from 2005 to 2009. From 1990 to 2004, an ...

and

Colin Campbell Colin may refer to: * Colin (given name) * Colin (surname) * ''Colin'' (film), a 2008 Cannes film festival zombie movie * Colin (horse) (1905–1932), thoroughbred racehorse * Colin (humpback whale), a humpback whale calf abandoned north of Sydney ...

; the e-mails were sent after a 24 February 2007 game between the

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

and Boston Bruins. Campbell suggested that "there must be a way to get rid of this guy". The move came as a surprise to some of the members of the NHLOA; linesman Brian Murphy said that he was "surprised that any official could fall that far that fast". Other officials critiqued Warren post-firing, with referee

Paul Devorski Paul Devorski (born August 18, 1958) is a retired National Hockey League referee, who wore uniform number 10 beginning in the 1994–95 NHL season. He refereed his first NHL game on October 14, 1989, and has been wearing a helmet while refereei ...

calling him "horse shit". In 2009, one year after his release from the league, Warren went to the Ontario Labour Relations Board in an attempt to be re-hired. While the Board ruled against his request, the Ontario Superior Court stepped in when it came to

severance pay Severance may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Severance'' (film), a 2006 British horror film * ''Severance'' (novel), a 2018 novel by Ling Ma *''Severance'', a 2006 short-story collection by Robert Olen Butler * ''Severance'' (TV series), a ...

. The Court said that the NHL had to pay Warren his severance, even though the OLRB said too much time passed after he was released. In an April 2016 letter to Warren's lawyer, the NHL said they would take the case to the Supreme Court.

References

External links

Dean Warren's alumni profile on the NHL Official's Association website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren, Dean Living people National Hockey League officials Year of birth missing (living people)