He had been a referee in the league since 1999. Peel, 53, has worked more than 1,300 regular season NHL games and 90 playoff games. Regardless of the intention, he openly admitted he called a penalty for reasons other than it being a clear penalty. We have seen the NHL defend officials in the past for controversial calls, but there was no spinning what Peel said. 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 our game.” “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. Comments made were caught on a hot mic and it was determined that it was Peel. “Nothing is more important than ensuring the integrity of our game,” NHL senior executive vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell said. Back in March, the National Hockey League announced that referee Tim Peel will no longer work NHL games now or in the future after his comments about a Nashville penalty were heard on a hot mic during Tuesday’s Red Wings - Predators game. On Wednesday, the league said in a press release that Peel will not be working games “now or in the future.” The NHL announced immediately after the game that it was investigating Peel’s remarks. Four penalties were called against the Predators and three against the Red Wings. One of the announcers felt it was “such a dive” from Detroit’s John Merrill. The trip was called against Predators winger Viktor Arvidsson. 'It wasn't much but I wanted to get a fuckin' penalty against Nashville early in the…' #Preds #LGRW /6fZImkdqLr 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. Instead, Peel’s career ends a month or so early, and the NHL will presumably hope everyone forgets about it by the time the playoffs start.You can hear the clip below, but beware that it contains inappropriate language.

Obviously it would be better if it was accompanied by a strong review of officiating practices and a commitment to transparency, but if the NHL was actually interested in that, they would have done it already. Moments like this puncture that bubble, and that’s why the response was so swift. That fans, players, and everyone else can tell officials insert themselves in this way in an effort to manage games is irrelevant as long as the league can maintain the illusion that it’s not happening or that it’s unavoidable. The appearance of complete competitive integrity is much more important to leagues than whether or not it actually exists. What they don’t want is any concrete evidence that it happens. The league may want to change how games are officiated, but they might not, too. That’s an entirely separate issue, though. Which is true, to a certain extent! Hockey (and other sports) absolutely have officiating or umpiring issues, including make-up calls and other weird examples of the human element of officiating seeping into the actual athletic competition. Plenty of the discourse has focused on hockey officials and their propensity for make-up calls, with some people defending Peel for just doing what every hockey official does.

Tim Peel has officiated nearly 1,500 NHL games, including 90 in the playoffs and the 2014 Sochi Olympics. 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 our game.”Īs many noted, Peel was a very experienced official, who was actually set to retire at the end of this season. “Nothing is more important than ensuring the integrity of our game,” Campbell said. 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.

Tim peel hot mic