![]() ![]() Peel didn’t get canned for a ticky-tack call, but rather his mistake in blurting it for all to hear. Hockey is a game full of emotions, snap decisions, missteps in judgment, and human error, mistakes of thought, deed, and word. ![]() It took years for his prolonged concussion symptoms to subside, but Savard is back in Ontario and enjoying retirement after spending last season as a member of the Blues’ coaching staff.Ĭarlo, finally back skating this past week, hopes to return soon to the Bruins’ lineup. O’Halloran retired after one more season Furlatt remains on the job. Golden Knights GM George McPhee said the league quickly followed with an apology (believed to be from commissioner Gary Bettman). Two years ago, after the botched call by O’Halloran and Furlatt, both continued their careers. “There is no justification for his comments,” noted director of hockey operations Colin Campbell in the league’s media release, “no matter the context or his intention, and the NHL will take any and all steps necessary to protect the integrity of our game.” His faux pas in Nashville will be both footnote and lasting embarrassment to his career. Instead, the league ran him off to the badlands Wednesday morning. Peel, whose 2019-20 season was cut short in December when he suffered a fractured ankle on the job, was due to call the final game of his career April 24. When implemented under best intentions, it can be a referee’s way of dialing down a game’s temperature, or not allowing it to boil over into head shots, aggravated stick violations, or fights and injuries. Part of that unwritten code is for the referee, or referees, to make clear what will or won’t be called. It’s also quite possible, even likely, Peel was living to that unofficial “game management” standard that so many of us demand, even expect, from the refereeing crew. Everywhere else, great, because it feeds into the emotion we love. Referees really are the only people in the rink who can’t deal in grudges. If so, then he was fired with appropriate cause. Maybe he does have some underlying grudge for Predators players or coaches. Only Peel knows exactly what he was doing or how he felt in the moment. Keep in mind, many of us (hand way, way up here) often criticize NHL referees, particularly those with little experience, for not using feel or instinct relative to the rulebook and their ability to manage games and keep play under control. Here in the dawning age of pro sports gambling, such words could trigger a riot. That didn’t play well to anyone’s ear, obviously, because it painted Peel potentially as a prejudiced, unfair arbiter. Less than three minutes after the call on Arvidsson, the Predators TV broadcast picked up Peel saying, “It wasn’t much (read: ticky-tack), but I wanted to get a penalty against Nashville early.” ![]()
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