Viral moment ended referee's career
Veteran official says his choice of words was a mistake
Tim Peel continues to move forward after his planned retirement as an NHL referee took an abrupt, early ending.
In March 2021, the Hampton, N.B., native who officiated more than 1,300 NHL games was caught in the middle of a controversy regarding his on-ice comments during a contest between the Detroit Red Wings and the Nashville Predators.
A television microphone picked up Peel saying he had wanted to call a penalty against the Predators after sending Nashville's Viktor Arvidsson to the penalty box for tripping a Red Wings defenceman.
The comment quickly went viral, with many critics immediately calling the integrity of the game into question.
Within 24 hours, NHL senior executive vice-president of hockey operations Colin Campbell acted swiftly, issuing a statement that Peel would no longer be working NHL games.
Now armed with more than 14 months of perspective, Peel has successfully transitioned into his retirement — one that features a variety of media work, business dealings and quality family time.
He does not deflect conversation on the controversy regarding his final NHL game, openly discussing his thought process and acknowledging that his choice of words was a mistake.
“I did not grovel. I did not say, `Why?' because I knew they had their reasons,” Peel said of the immediate decision to remove him from the ice.
“You have to be accountable for your actions. I did not mean what I said . ... It was a mistake that got caught on a hot microphone.”
In the aftermath of the decision, Peel was impressed with those who reached out to him, including Wayne Gretzky, Brian Burke and Lou Lamoriello. Others, who he thought had a beef with officials, such as former NHL forward David Clarkson, called him in the heart of the controversy.
“I received a tremendous amount of support from the hockey community, and I still do,” Peel said. “My whole life is based on perseverance and resiliency, and I have been kicked in the teeth many times. It is how you come out on the other side that people remember.”
Peel is based in St. Louis, where he is active in the sport with referee clinics. In the media, he discusses the NHL, its rules and interpretations on weekly radio spots with former NHLer Jamal Mayers.
At the same time, Peel is evaluating the results of his son's competitive hockey team, a squad Peel and Mayers coached together during the 2021-22 season. Further, he is busy with his daughter's horse-riding shows and school activities, all part of his new routine at home.
“It is busy with the family. I missed a lot during that part of their lives,” said Peel. “Now is a great opportunity to be at home and strictly be a dad and a husband.”
On top of that, he is scanning the hockey wires, looking for subjects that may materialize for his appearances on the Daily Faceoff podcast, where he is a rules analyst, giving his assessment of controversial NHL calls, potential suspensions that could materialize and his interpretation of rules that may have decided a game.
Throw in some work with a couple of other regular podcasts — and several investments in Missouri – and this is the life Peel envisioned when he scheduled his retirement after more than 1,300 regular season games, 90 playoff contests, the 2012 all-star game, two Winter Classics and the 2014 Winter Olympics.
It is the next step from his officiating career that also included early duty in the New Brunswick senior ranks before packed crowds at Saint John, N.B.'s Lord Beaverbrook Rink. He also skated regular American Hockey League assignments, many of those before well-attended games at Harbour Station.
He says last year's controversy does not define his reputation, gleaned from decades of work. His current work, in which he talks about the sport, points to how he is viewed by his puck peers, he feels.
And it has not lessened Peel's love for hockey, through his coaching experiences, the referee clinics he conducts and his interest in the Stanley Cup playoffs that began earlier this month.
“I am pumped for that,” he said, detailing the atmosphere in NHL arenas and within fans bases that happens every year in the playoffs.
“When April rolls around, you are not wearing winter jackets anymore. It is nice weather and you are re-energized,” he said.
“I remember when I was working, you come out of the tunnel, everyone is waving the towels, and whether it is Game 1 of the first round or Game 6 of the second round, it has that energy you cannot replicate.”