The NHL is responsible for Tim Peel’s hot-mic gaffe, and so much more

Any fan of hockey knows the NHL’s officiating is suspect most of the time and outright egregious at the most inopportune times. Everyone knows the rulebook is enforced in two separate manners during the regular season and playoffs. Everyone knows make-up calls happen in every game. It’s baked into the entertainment experience of the NHL. It’s so embedded into the culture of the sport that, in some cases, we merely shrug at calls in apathy and say, “that’s NHL officiating.”

This isn’t new. It’s been a quiet underlying issue for decades.

Last night, now former NHL referee Tim Peel said the quiet part out loud.

The NHL, predictably, responded in a lukewarm fashion.

This morning, the NHL came out with an official statement.

The NHL appears more concerned about what was said rather than what it confirms. Firing Peel is doing something, yes, but it’s along the lines of rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Additionally, the fact Colin Campbell proclaims this is for “the integrity of the game” when he himself has jeopardized that very facet during his tenure with the league (and is still employed by said league!) is hypocritical and cronyistic.

Whether it’s enforcing headshot rules, inconsistent officiating, make-up calls, swallowing whistles entirely, or employing individuals who are incapable of adjudicating suspensions appropriately, the NHL consistently misses the mark. It’s comical, embarrassing, and downright lugubrious that a professional sports league repeatedly fails at handling the officiating situation time and time again.

Nowhere in the NHL’s statement addresses the real issue here; the make-up call pandemic that plagues the NHL. Nowhere does it state it will actively conduct a thorough review of the league's officiating arm to try and curb this mentality. The league did the absolute bare minimum and now wants to be applauded like they did something noteworthy.

Tim Peel has been an NHL official since October 21, 1999. He has 1,343 NHL games and 90 NHL playoff games under his belt. He was one of the most tenured officials in the league. If he has this thought process, then it’s not unbelievable that other officials have it as well.

This is a systemic and cultural issue that the NHL has repeatedly refused to address. Until there is a cleaning out of the “old boys club” in the league offices, change will never come. We will continue to bemoan and scream at the officiating issues until we’re blue in the face, but the NHL needs to be held accountable for the problem it continues to permeate.

Accountability does not fall on Tim Peel’s shoulders; he’s a product of the NHL’s mentality and a scapegoat. Accountability needs to fall on the league's entire officiating body and the NHL Officials Association (and let’s not start with this union that has done little to nothing to change anything).

The unfortunate part is the NHL sets the standard for all of North American hockey. If that standard is fundamentally flawed (which “game management” most certainly is), then a trickle-down effect infests the officiating model for every league in North America. Whether it be professional, semi-professional, junior, and even recreational, until the NHL leads by example, something the league has consistently failed to do in its existence, then nothing will change.

My ultimate fear is something along the lines of the NBA officiating scandal with Timothy Donaghy occurring and absolutely destroying what little credibility the Officials Association and NHL have left. If the league doesn’t take this hot mic “slip-up” seriously, then something along those lines will happen, and it’s going to be ugly.

What the NHL needs to do is call the game by the rule book. No ifs, ands, or buts. A hook in the first period is a hook in sudden death overtime—don’t hook, and you won’t get penalized. It really is that simple. Empower the officials and stand by them in this stance. Root out the mentality of “game management.” The officials will “manage” the game by calling penalties appropriately. Players and coaches will complain, but they’ll adjust as they adjust to every change the league mandates. The NHL and the officials cannot afford to have their credibility damaged any more than it already is. That is how this should be handled, but I doubt the league will handle it this way.