Former NHL referee Michael "Mick" McGeough died late Friday night after being taken off life support following a stroke, his son Luke announced.

The 62-year-old was rushed to a Regina hospital on Sunday with the early signs of a stroke, and his condition worsened as he awaited tests. He met with a neurosurgeon in Saskatoon to see if clots in the back of his brain could be removed, but the damage was irreversible.

McGeough then returned to his family in Regina where he was removed from life support.

"The National Hockey League lost a true friend of the game last night with the passing of Mick McGeough," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.

"As one of the League’s top referees for 21 years from 1987-88 until his retirement following the 2007-08 season, Mick’s passion for the game shone through on a nightly basis. He earned and maintained respect from players, coaches, general managers and his peers throughout his career with a unique style that combined humility and humor with decisiveness and fairness. The NHL family extends its deepest sympathies to his wife Angie and his five children - Jared, Luke, Kara, Karlie and Isaac."

McGeough officiated 1,083 regular-season games and another 63 playoff contests, including the 2006 Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes.

McGeough's family set up a GoFundMe page on Thursday with a goal of raising $10,000. As of Saturday morning, it had already raised over $12,000.

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All good things must come to an end.

On Friday, for the first time in 18 games, Florida Panthers forward Mike Hoffman failed to pick up a point. Over that stretch, dating back to Oct. 13, Hoffman collected 10 goals and 10 assists.

The 28-year-old wasn't without his chances, as he put four pucks on Carolina Hurricanes netminder Curtis McElhinney, only to have each shot turned aside.

Acquired in an offseason deal with the San Jose Sharks, Hoffman's had an instant impact in Florida, as he leads all Panthers in scoring, one point ahead of teammates Keith Yandle and Evgenii Dadonov, both of whom have 19 on the season.

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Joe Thornton continued his ascent up the all-time leaderboards Friday night, moving past Mario Lemieux for the 11th-most helpers in NHL history.

The San Jose Sharks forward set up Timo Meier's power-play goal with nine seconds left in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks.

It was Thornton's 1,034th career assist, and he accomplished the feat in his 1,507th career game. Lemieux required only 915 contests to collect his 1,033.

Next up for "Jumbo Joe" is Marcel Dionne, who notched 1,040 in 1,348 games.

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Roberto Luongo left Friday's game against the Carolina Hurricanes after sprawling out in a failed effort to prevent a goal late in the first period.

The Florida Panthers later ruled him out for the remainder of the contest with what the club classified as a lower-body injury, and The Athletic's George Richards reported that the veteran goaltender is day to day.

Panthers head coach Bob Boughner confirmed Luongo's status Saturday, according to Richards.

Luongo departed after allowing Jordan Martinook's marker with about 38 seconds remaining in the opening frame.

James Reimer replaced him in the Panthers' crease.

Luongo was playing his ninth game of the season after missing time earlier in the campaign with a knee injury suffered in Florida's season opener.

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Tiger Woods gave a nod to the Las Vegas faithful with his shoe selection for his match against Phil Mickelson on Friday, saying his gold-accented kicks are a tribute to the NHL's Golden Knights.

Of course, Tiger also wore his usual championship outfit - a red shirt and black pants - with the flashy shoes.

The Match is being held at Shadow Creek Golf Course, a short drive from the Las Vegas Strip.

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The Ottawa Senators' plans for a new downtown arena will need to come via a different path.

Capital Sports Management, which is led by Senators owner Eugene Melnyk, is suing Trinity Group, its partner in the redevelopment of downtown Ottawa neighborhood LeBreton Flats, the team announced Friday. The suit claims a conflict of interest caused the venture to fail.

The lawsuit is for $700 million, according to Shaamini Yogaretnam of the Ottawa Citizen. John Ruddy, Graham Bird Associates, and Graham Bird are also named in the suit.

The Senators and Trinity Group told the National Capital Commission that they've "not been able to resolve their internal partnership issues," NCC board members heard during a public meeting Thursday.

During the meeting, the NCC said it would give the Senators and Trinity Group until their next meeting in January to resolve these problems before the board begins looking for other groups to take over the project.

Commencing legal proceedings is perhaps not what the NCC had in mind.

"The two companies were not able to finalize a master development agreement that would have resulted in the construction of a new sports and entertainment arena, as well as a mix of residential, retail, commercial, and hotel properties in Ottawa's downtown core," the Senators release states. "... A number of breaches, all arising out of a conflict of interest ... directly resulted in the failure of the partnership."

According to the lawsuit, Trinity Group executive chairman Ruddy started developing a housing property on a nearby street, which put that development in "direct competition" with LeBreton, Yogaretnam adds.

"Ruddy and Trinity misused confidential inside information about the LeBreton Project and abused the trust (Capital Sports Management) had placed in them," the lawsuit states, according to Yogaretnam.

The NCC said it knew in the planning stage of the project that having one side work alone on the redevelopment would not be possible.

Following Thursday's meeting, Ottawa mayor Jim Watson voiced his frustration over the "challenging" relationship between Melnyk and Ruddy, saying the two must "get their acts together."

"We have given the partners one last time to come together," said Watson, a non-voting member of the NCC.

Driving from downtown Ottawa to the Senators' current arena - Canadian Tire Centre in suburban Kanata, Ontario - can take up to 45 minutes during rush hour.

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Former NHL referee Michael "Mick" McGeough will be taken off life support, his family stated on a GoFundMe page.

McGeough was taken to a hospital in Regina on Sunday with the early signs of a stroke, and his condition worsened while waiting for tests. He met with a neurosurgeon in Saskatoon to see if clots in the back of his brain could be removed. Unfortunately, the damage caused by the stroke was irreversible.

The 62-year-old has now returned to Regina to be with his family.

McGeough officiated 1,083 games during his career and another 63 playoff games, including the 2006 Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Carolina Hurricanes.

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The New Jersey Devils will get a boost to their lineup on Friday afternoon.

Defenseman Sami Vatanen and forward Brian Boyle were activated off injured reserve and will be in the lineup against the New York Islanders.

Vatanen had missed the past three games with a lower-body injury and Boyle was sidelined the previous five contests with an upper-body injury.

In 17 games this season, Vatanen has one goal and seven points, while Boyle is tied for fourth on the club with six goals in 15 games.

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