Minutes away from the final whistle of Mike Cvik’s 1,868th and last game as an NHL linesman in January, the 53-year-old collapsed to the ice.
Cvik had been saluted moments earlier by 19,000 Calgary Flames fans in his hometown Saddledome as a montage played on the video board. Cvik only saw the end of it, after Flames coach Bruce Hartley interrupted the ref’s water break with an outstretched finger and a suggestion to “look up,” but he heard the public address announcer rattle off the historic stats he’d accrued: a 29-year career; 90 playoff games officiated; All-Star Game, Heritage Classic, and Olympic appearances.