NHL ref career over after hot lic catches him admitting he wanted to call a penalty on Nashville

https://apnews.com/article/nhl-nashville-john-hynes-nashville-predators-viktor-arvidsson-f6a3328aa61ec8adcf4d2ccb0919de67

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tim Peel’s career as an NHL referee is over after his voice was picked up by a TV microphone saying he wanted to call a penalty against the Nashville Predators.

The league on Wednesday announced that Peel “no longer will be working NHL games now or in the future.” The 54-year-old Peel had already made plans to retire next month.

“Tim Peel’s conduct is in direct contraction to the adherence to that cornerstone principle that we demand from our officials and that of our fans, players coaches and all those associated with our game expect and deserve,” NHL vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell said in a statement. “There is no justification for his comments no matter the context or intension.”


The NHL determined it was Peel’s voice that was heard on the TV broadcast of the Predators home game against the Detroit Red Wings after Nashville forward Viktor Arvidsson was issued a minor tripping penalty five minutes into the second period.

“It wasn’t much, but I wanted to get a (expletive) penalty against Nashville early in the,” the unidentified official was heard saying before the microphone was cut. Peel worked the game with referee Kelly Sutherland.