GOTTA SEE IT: Cale Makar Declines A Penalty

That arrogant guy, Cale Makar. He’s so egotistical that he actually told the referees tonight NOT to call a penalty on the New York Islanders, after a referee raised his hand to call one in his favor.

See for yourself:

The refs called tripping…but Cale Makar told them he just slipped and the call was overturned 😳 pic.twitter.com/KkU0BJPOkS

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 20, 2022

As you can see, with 44.7 seconds left in the first period, a referee put up his hand to call something on Mat Barzal. Makar soon motioned to the refs, and he said he wasn’t tripped. So, after some discussion, the refs said “there is no penalty on the play.”

And so there wasn’t. After the game, Cale Makar said he wouldn’t do that again, but that his conscience got the best of him.

“I just felt like it was a really obvious one. The ref that called it wasn’t the guy at center ice, he was kind of behind the net on the far side, so I don’t think he had a good  angle on it, he just saw me fall. I mean, I like to think that most times I fall it’s usually because someone trips me, but  that one, I just lost an edge. I felt pretty guilty for the boys there, so I apologized to them,” Makar said.

Islanders coach Lane Lambert said, “Just an honest player who wants to beat you fair and square.”

Said Barzal: “I honestly didn’t even know he waved it off until I saw it after. I thought the ref just made the call but, yeah, good sportsmanship on his part, not taking that. I don’t know if I would have done the same, to be honest with you.”

Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said it was no big deal, that he wasn’t mad about it. Now, if that had been a playoff game, and one that the Avs had lost in a shootout? Yeah, maybe Bednar would have been a bit upset by it.

NYI Hockey Now’s Stefen Rosner and Avalanche PR contributed to this report