CHN Puck Links: Tim Peel erred, but didn’t deserve firing

So, the NHL fired longtime referee Tim Peel today, for a “hot mic” incident in last night’s Detroit-Nashville game. Peel was heard saying, “”there wasn’t much, but I wanted to get a f—ing penalty against Nashville early in the—”.

Peel had just called a penalty on Nashville’s Viktor Arvidsson five minutes into the second period. Nashville won the game 2-0. That was all that was heard, but it was enough for the league to fire Peel today. (Peel was going to retire after this season).

I’m probably in the minority here, but I don’t agree with the league’s decision. I’m not a fan of people being canceled over things they say privately. Sure, there are exceptions (using the N word, plotting a murder, etc. etc.). But this is the NHL, a league that has ALWAYS  known that referees do makeup calls or try to even things up when it comes to power plays for each team in a game. Every referee in the league has done what Tim Peel did last night. And Gary Bettman, along with every other higher-up in the league office, knows it.

To make Peel a scapegoat over a hot mic, to me, is wrong. I think he should have been given a chance to apologize and maybe given a suspension. But not fired on the spot. It’s hypocritical, and it just keeps furthering our holier-than-thou cancel culture, where those doing the canceling get to believe they’re perfectly virtuous and never do anything wrong. They’re not, and they do.

I know lots of people already thought Peel was a terrible ref. That’s not the point here. For the league to try and act all shocked – shocked! – that a referee said/did this is hypocritical. But, chalk another one up for the social media virtue crowd.

Some links:

• The Philadelphia fans have had enough of the Flyers middling play. They booed the Flyers off the ice in their loss to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. 
• The top 10 goalies who could be on the move by the trade deadline (TSN)
• It looks like the Montreal Canadiens and the North Division are now succumbing to some COVID Protocol issues after they had done a pretty good job keeping it out of Canada for most of the season. (Sportsnet)
• Looks like the UMass hockey dressing room is getting a pretty sweet upgrade thanks to some good friends of the program. Wonder if Cale Makar chipped in at all? (UMass Athletics)
• Big blow to the Florida Panthers, who lost Aleksander Barkov to a lower-body injury (Florida Hockey Now)
• The Avs have had a scout in Pittsburgh of late, watching the Pens and Devils.
• The NHL Draft Lottery changes have been approved by the NHL’s Board of Governors at Tuesday’s meeting.  (TSN)
• The NHL is trying to reach more Latinos with the game as the population grows. (NY Times)