You can not have an NHL game without on-ice officials and there once was a time that on-ice officials were featured on hockey cards.
NHL referees have a thankless job. They get booed the moment they take the ice and the crowd cheers every time they fall. Players and coaches curse out the referees after a penalty. "Ref you suck chants" happen nearly every game.
Pro Set Hockey offered appreciation for on-ice officials with their 1990-91 hockey cards.
Check out Referee Dan Marouelli getting his hands dirty as he breaks up a fight all by himself. Note this was back in the good old days when there was just one referee and two linesmen. If Marouelli was breaking up a fight, there is a good chance that all hell was breaking loose.
Did anyone besides me notice that Kerry Fraser's hair was perfect from the moment the game started to the final buzzer? That flow did not move a centimeter throughout the game.
The 1990-91 Pro Set Hockey Card set featured 22 on-ice officials including Marouelli, Fraser, Bill McCreary, and Don Koharski. The cards featuring the on-ice officials can be found in 1990-91 Pro Set Hockey Series II boxes and retail for $10 to $20.
In 1987, the Collectors Marketing Corporation released the "Hockey Hall of Fame Cartophilium" set. The set featured nine on-ice officials including Matt Pavelich, Frank Udvari, and John Ashley.
Ashley was the first referee to officiate three playoff series that went to a seventh game during the 1971 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The 1987 Cartophilium Hockey Hall of Fame set retails for approximately $250 and single cards can be found in the range of $2 to $25 on eBay.
Happy hunting and collecting!