The NHL has “fired” referee Tim Peel after he was caught on a hot mic saying how he wanted to give Nashville a penalty last night to balance the game out.
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
The NHL released a statement that Peel is no longer working NHL games now or in the future. Given that Peel was set to retire at the end of the season, they are basically giving him an extra six weeks of fully paid vacation before retirement. He has not been fired, he’s been placed on paid leave. He will get his full pension.
Peel is very clearly a scapegoat and had the audacity to get caught doing something the NHL has been doing for years. I’m no fan of Peel, but this one isn’t on him. He’s following orders from Colin Campbell, as is every other ref in the NHL. He just happened to have a hot mic and got caught.
This isn’t going to solve any officiating issues. Nothing is going to change. The refs will still “balance” games. Tim Peel and his hot mic won’t change a thing.
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