The NHL announced that Tim Peel — a referee in the league since 1999 — had been fired on Wednesday morning after a live microphone captured him saying that he had been looking for a way to call an “early” penalty on the Nashville Predators in a 2-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday.
“It wasn’t much, but I wanted to get a [expletive] penalty against Nashville early in,” Peel said before the microphone was cut off. The soundbite made it onto the television broadcast and went viral.
In the league’s statement, NHL executive Colin Campbell tried to separate Peel’s actions from those of other officials (as well as players and coaches).