NHL looking into hot mic incident with referee in Predators-Red Wings
Warning: Story and video contain coarse language
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly says the league is looking into an incident involving a referee that occurred during Tuesday's matchup between the Nashville Predators and Detroit Red Wings, according to The Athletic's Adam Vingan.
One of the on-ice officials called a questionable tripping penalty against Nashville forward Viktor Arvidsson, the team's first infraction of the contest, in the second period. During the game's broadcast, the referee could be heard on a hot mic admitting to targeting the Predators for a penalty.
Maybe if you're a mic'd up ref, you shouldn't express how you wanted to call a penalty against a team earlier in the game, changing how you ref the rest of the game.
— Matt Best (@bestofmatt) March 24, 2021
"It wasn't much but I wanted to get a fuckin' penalty against Nashville early in the..."#Preds #LGRW pic.twitter.com/6fZImkdqLr
Referees Tim Peel and Kelly Sutherland were working the game, though it's unclear whose voice was on the microphone. In 2015, Peel said the NHL wants officials to sometimes make calls with "game management" in mind - in other words, to ensure a contest doesn't get out of hand.
The Predators went on to win 2-0.