You might think with Peel getting the chance to confront his tormentor in an alcohol-rich environment that the meeting could get ugly. What actually happened was Peel and Wyshynski talked about hockey, shared their philosophies on officiating and gained a better understanding of each other's perspectives. While Wyshynski stands by his criticisms of Peel, he says he now has more context on why Peel made some his his controversial calls. Wyshynski also said he now sees that some of his jokes at Peel's expense may have been mean.
It actually seems like they had a lot of fun.
Unfortunately, it seems the NHL was not happy about the drinking photo above and suspended Peel for one game.
The NHL cracking down on Peel for this meeting is a shame. After reading Wyshynski's article, I realized I had made assumptions about Peel that were based on my own biases. Like Wyshynski, I am not a big fan of Peel as a referee. He has routinely made calls I don't agree with, and I assumed he is arrogant, incapable of recognizing his mistakes and out of touch with fans.
Turns out, Tim Peel is likely an awesome guy. Not only is Peel the Liam Neeson to Wyshynski's Patton Oswalt in the photo above, but Wyshynski said in his piece that Peel has apologized to teams for some of his mistakes, acknowledged some refs are better than him and even seems to find some of the jokes at his expense funny. Wyshynski emphasized that Peel is a really nice guy.
Now that I have some insight into Tim Peel as a person, I am much less likely to demonize him after a bad call and much more likely to think of him as a hard-working guy who makes mistakes.
This brings me to my point: the NHL shouldn't expect its refs to be robots.
Referees no longer wear nameplates on their jerseys, they never address the media and they are clearly not allowed to go out for drinks with journalists.
Obviously, I know the NHL removed nameplates from referees' jerseys to protect them. In the past, fans have used a referee's name to direct hateful comments at officials and their families. While I get the NHL wants officials do do their job and not worry about dealing with the media and fans, with game sheets available online, I would think it is easier than ever before to find a referee's personal information and attack them in new and horrible ways via the Internet.
It may have been prudent to protect refs in the early 1990s from ravenous Flyers fans who hounded them as they walked from the rink to their cars, but we don't live in that world anymore. With much more specialized content on TV, the NHL's website and social media, the NHL has more opportunities to have their officials engage in two-way communication with fans and share their side of the story.
As this scene from HBO's 24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road to the Winter Classic shows, refs can be a cool, beer-drinking bunch:
Not only do I want to see more of the refs' personalities, I want to see them address the media regarding hockey plays. Rather than court controversy, I think this would help me understand their perspective on penalty calls. It would also pound home the point that these are professionals doing a very hard job.
I think it would be fascinating to see how refs assert their authority over millionaire players and coaches. I would love to see NHL officials mic'd up like in this rugby clip:
Not only does rugby referee Nigel Owens show he is the boss on the field, he also takes a shot at soccer, which many rugby fans found endearing. It would be amazing to see how NHL officials deal with players after a scrum, after a player has taken a dive or after a superstar complains about a call.
Referees are interesting people. They work jobs where thousands of people get angry — even hostile — every time they make a mistake, but seem invisible when they make the right call. Referees need to command authority over players and coaches who have massive egos, and maintain control in games where the teams hate each other. I think given all the ways the NHL has to connect with fans and present a deeper, more nuanced view of their product, the NHL should be doing a lot more to show us the ref's side of the story.
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