Former NHL official Tim Peel took to Twitter on Wednesday saying that he’s “ready to talk” and willing to answer questions about what happened in his final season officiating NHL games.
One of the major highlights of the impromptu “ask me anything” session was Peel’s assertion that make-up calls are not a thing in the NHL.
That’s a great question and a very fair question. Make up calls are not a thing. What happens is if we have so many penalties against one team our antennas are up to make sure we don’t miss a penalty against the other team.
— Tim Peel (@TimCPeel20) September 15, 2022
In March of 2021, Peel was not so subtly encouraged into early retirement by the league when he was caught on a live mic admitting to a bogus call during a Red Wings-Predators game.
The Predators broadcast of the matchup captured Peel discussing a minor penalty he called on forward Viktor Arvidsson with fellow official Kelly Sutherland. Peel admitted that the trip “wasn’t much” but that he “wanted to get an af***ing penalty against Nashville.”
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
Peel’s act of trying to make up the difference in penalty calls per team caught the attention of the league and he was unceremoniously pushed out.
“Nothing is more important than ensuring the integrity of our game,” said Colin Campbell, senior executive vice president of hockey operations. said at the time. “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. 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 of our game.”
In this same Twitter interview, Peel responded to a question asking about how many other NHL refs even issued penalties and said that “much worse has been said on the ice.” He also claims that he simply did not mean to say what he did.
I cannot speak for other officials Derek but all I can tell you is much worse has been said on the ice for what I said.
— Tim Peel (@TimCPeel20) September 15, 2022
It was a mistake. Did not mean to say what I did.
— Tim Peel (@TimCPeel20) September 15, 2022
The former ref also pretty much confirmed that reputation calls are definitely a thing.
Yes and No. sorry to waffle. But if a guy has a history there’s a good chance he’ll do it again.
— Tim Peel (@TimCPeel20) September 15, 2022