The NHL fired longtime official Tim Peel Wednesday morning after the referee went viral for admitting to a bogus call on a hot mic during a Red Wings-Predators game.
National Hockey League Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell announced today that Referee Tim Peel, following his comments during the game last night between the Detroit Red Wings and Nashville Predators, no longer will be working NHL games now or in the future.
“Nothing is more important than ensuring the integrity of our game,” Campbell said. “Tim Peel’s conduct is in direct contradiction to the adherence to that cornerstone principle that we demand of our officials and that our fans, players, coaches, and all those associated with our game expect and deserve. There is no justification for his comments, no matter the context or his intention, and the National Hockey League will take any and all steps necessary to protect the integrity of our game.”
Peel made the comment during the second period of Tuesday’s game. With about 12:42 remaining, the Predators broadcast captured Peel discussing a minor penalty he called on Viktor Arvidsson with fellow official Kelly Sutherland. Peel admitted that the trip “wasn’t much” but that he “wanted to get a f***ing penalty against Nashville.”
Maybe if you're a mic'd up ref, you shouldn't express how you wanted to call a penalty against a team earlier in the game, changing how you ref the rest of the game.
"It wasn't much but I wanted to get a fuckin' penalty against Nashville early in the…"#Preds #LGRW pic.twitter.com/6fZImkdqLr
— Matt Best (@bestofmatt) March 24, 2021
When reviewing the video of what Peel whistled Arvidsson for, you’ll see the problem. The play was actually a dive by Detroit’s John Merrill.
— Big T Screenshots (@bigtscreenshots) March 24, 2021
The Predators still managed to win the game 2-0. Four penalties were called on Nashville while the Red Wings were whistled three different times.
“I think the situation is what it is. I think from our perspective, it probably doesn’t matter how I feel about it, in general,” Nashville coach John Hynes said via ESPN. “But the referees are employees of the league, and rather than me comment, I think it’s an issue that the league will have to take care of.”
He added, “you always want to have things that are fair for your players and for your team” but that there are no excuses.”
The NHL announced a review of Peel’s remarks immediately after the game and fired him the next morning.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, Peel was scheduled to retire at the end of the season. His final game was supposed to be April 24.
To add some context to this, Peel was scheduled to retire later this season. His final game was April 24. Still think it’s a big punishment…taking that away from him. https://t.co/4KEN4wnLEO
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) March 24, 2021
According to Scouting The Refs, Peel, 54, officiated 1,334 games in his career coming into this season and first made his debut on October 21, 1999. He was suspended on prior time.
If you’re wondering why there was zero tolerance for Tim Peel it might be because this isn’t the first time he was suspended for having loose lips. https://t.co/EIjKv5DGks
— Noah Love (@noahlove) March 24, 2021
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