Former NHL official Tim Peel, who is no stranger to controversy, found himself in the middle of it again last night following Game 2 of the Leafs and Panthers series. It specifically revolved around the incident in the first period between Sam Bennett and Matthew Knies where Bennett wrestled Knies to the ground awkwardly before punching him in the back of the head. The incident forced Knies to leave the game and not return.
On social media, Peel called out Leaf fans saying they are sensitive and any time the Leafs lose, Leaf fans automatically blame the officials. Peel also said he thought the officials of last night's game did a good job.
For those wondering why the name sounds familiar, it's because Peel was immediately fired from his job as an NHL official following a game between Nashville and Detroit where a hot mic picked up a conversation in which he said he was looking to call a penalty to even things up even though there was nothing to call.
More recently, it came out that Peel verbally abused a pair of 17-year-old referees after his son's minor hockey game. The report indicated that Peel burst into the ref room and berated the young men while standing in front of the door so they could not leave. Peel was suspended from the rink for his actions in that instance, but the ramifications have been felt as the ref clinic he runs has lost local sponsors due to the incident.
