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Let's frame this nicely and call it an early retirement for NHL referee Tim Peel. Peel was set to officiate his last game on April 24 and retire after that, now, that retirement has come earlier than anticipated. Peel was caught on a hot mic during the Detroit Red Wings vs Nashville Predators game on Tuesday and let's just say it's not exactly what the NHL wants to hear its officials saying.
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
Admitting that not only wasn't there much on the penalty that he called but in addition, that he wanted to call something on Nashville is not ideal. And out the door goes Tim Peel.
Referee Tim Peel no longer will be working NHL games now or in the future. https://t.co/mrnDc61W5P pic.twitter.com/tKsg2SwGh8
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 24, 2021
The humor in that tweet is that the NHL is acting as though they should be praised for the decision when Peel was going to retire in April anyways. This was an easy decision for the league. It's not your Tim Donaghy NBA fiasco from 2007 that involved betting on games and players, but what Peel said qualifies as another reason why NHL fans are hesitant to trust officiating.
Acting as though this is an isolated incident would be foolish. It seems to be fairly well known that make-up calls are a part of sports and that it's part of the game, whether right or wrong. Tim Peel just got caught on a hot mic relaying to another official what is likely said all the time. You can even hear the other officials in the clip say, “Yea I know,” when Peel mentioned he just wanted to get a penalty against Nashville. He wasn't exactly shocked.
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Here are some reactions to the NHL's decision on Tim Peel:
I personally would have considered mentioning in the statement that the NHL intends to address the issue of make-up calls with the entirety of its officiating crew so that it doesn't exist anymore. Tim Peel just got caught saying out loud what many officials think all the time.
— Arpon Basu (@ArponBasu) March 24, 2021
Deserved, sure. But are we gonna pretend Tim Peel was the only ref making makeup calls or looking for a reason to call a penalty on one team? https://t.co/9hlcGYL1r5
— Scott McLaughlin (@smclaughlin9) March 24, 2021
Holy shit. Never did I think this would be the outcome of the hot mic. Make up calls have always been and will continue to be just part of the game. Tough way to go out for Tim Peel https://t.co/N8MZxZkyDz
— Ryan Whitney (@ryanwhitney6) March 24, 2021
Getting caught on the hot mic is Peel's own fault. Using him as the scapegoat acting as though this is a one-time ordeal in the NHL is silly. In any case, it's early retirement for Peel.
