Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire ” proudly sponsored by Pete’s Auto Body.
Pete’s Auto Body; because we care about our community……
The National Hockey League made the right decision in removing referee Tim Peel from further game action.
The referee’s in-house mic caught the audio of Peel relating he was ” looking ” to call a penalty on Nashville in their game Tuesday night against Detroit.
The understanding is that Peel was ” looking ” to call the Predators for an infraction in order to make an ” even up ” call or to ” manage the game “.
As a result, Tim Peel, who was planning to retire at the end of this season, was banished from ever working an NHL game again.
The NHL certainly made the right decision here, and truthfully they really had no other choice, based on a number of factors, primarily the integrity of the game and having their on-ice officials viewed as being neutral, impartial and calling what they see.
Having said that, I feel bad for Tim Peel because this scenario leaves a large blemish on what has been an exceptionally long and strong career as an NHL ref; more than 1,300 games + 90 playoff games over the last quarter century
Prior to the NHL, Tim Peel was a referee in the Ontario Hockey League and in my view of the early to mid-90s, he was among the best, if not the best official in the league.
And let’s be clear, the act that Tim Peel committed, making an ” even up ” call, was done last night, will be done tomorrow night, has been done for decades and will continue to be done for decades.
If you don’t think game officials make game management calls, you’ve never been at a game in London where the Knights were down by 2 goals.
Tim Peel’s crime was having the in-house microphone on, allowing his voice to be heard explaining to a colleague, what exactly he was doing.
And for that, unfortunately, a pretty distinguished officiating career will have a black mark smudged on it.
For Pete’s Auto Body I’m Fred Wallace