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Tim Peel’s career as an NHL referee came to an end after his voice was picked up by a television microphone saying he wanted to call a penalty against the Nashville Predators.
The league announced Wednesday that Peel “will no longer work for NHL games now or in the future.” Peel, 54, had already planned to retire next month.
“Nothing is more important than ensuring the integrity of our game,” NHL vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell said in a statement. “Tim Peel’s conduct is in direct contradiction to the upholding of this fundamental principle that we demand of our officials and that of our fans, players, coaches and all who are associated with our game expect and deserve.”
The NHL determined that it was Peel’s voice that was heard during the televised broadcast of the Predators’ home game against the Detroit Red Wings after Nashville forward Viktor Arvidsson was assessed a tripping penalty minor five minutes after the start of the second period.
“It wasn’t much, but I wanted to get an (expletive) penalty against Nashville early in the day,” the unidentified official was heard to say before the mic was cut. Peel worked the game with referee Kelly Sutherland.
“There is no justification for his comments, no matter the context or the intent,” Campbell said.
The Predators won 2-0 and were called up for four penalties, compared to three for the Red Wings. Nashville’s Matt Duchene in a local radio appearance on Wednesday wondered aloud what would have happened if Detroit scored on the power play, won the game and the Predators missed the playoffs by one point.
“The craziest thing is he was talking to (his teammate Filip) Forsberg in that clip, and he said it to our bench. Really weird ” Duchene said. “I don’t think there is a place in hockey for that. you have to call the game. I was always frustrated when I saw calls or stuff like that. If one team wins a power play, you can’t punish them because the other team isn’t. “
Duchene and other players in the league have questioned that “catch-up calls” are part of hockey, although he acknowledged “there are certainly nights when you are skeptical about it.”
“Some of the good umpires definitely have a feel for the game and they know the ebb and flow and they know you have to try to keep the game as smooth as possible unless the game dictates otherwise,” said the forward. of New York Rangers Ryan Strome. “But as players all you can ask is that they try to say it’s as fair as they can get.”
Washington center Nicklas Backstrom, a 14-year veteran, said the incident was a first for him.
“I’ve never heard of anything like it,” Backstrom said. “I think maybe it’s unfortunate that it happened and that it happened that way, but at the same time the league had to do what it had to do.
Most players and coaches expressed their respect for the on-ice officials and lamented the difficulty of their jobs keeping up with the fast pace of the game.. Buffalo interim coach Don Granato said he has “full confidence” in the people who work for the NHL.
“(Peel) made a mistake, but unfortunately you don’t want the catch-up calls to be part of the game,” said Adam Larsson of Edmonton. “I don’t think it’s fair. I think if this is obvious, I don’t think it should be compensated.
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AP freelance reporter Jim Diamond in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed.
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