Here’s what we know.
During the third period of New York’s 4-1 win over Ottawa on Sunday, Rangers center Derick Brassard got an earful from referee Tim Peel.
“Screaming bloody murder” is how the New York Post described it.
Brassard said he was trying to be friendly with Peel, and that the referee “took it the wrong way.” Brassard then added the incident was “weird” and “shocked” him.
Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault had his own take:
[Vigneault] was right there to hear what was happening, and when asked about it after the game, Vigneault smiled and said it was all “R-rated.”
“I think it was just a misunderstanding,” Vigneault said. “I like Timmy a lot and I think Brass likes him too, so it was just a little misunderstanding. Boys will be boys sometimes, right?”
What we don’t know is what was said, or why Peel reacted the way he did.
But this isn’t the first time Peel’s found himself in headlines.
Earlier this year, he was suspended one game after a photo of him holding a shot of alcohol at a bar surfaced online.
The picture was in relation to an interview Peel conducted with Yahoo’s Greg Wyshynski, during which the two met at a New York-area pub to discuss, among other things, Wyshynski’s criticisms of Peel’s work.
A 20-year veteran, Peel was subsequently not chosen to work last year’s postseason. That decision came after he was selected to work both the ’14 Stanley Cup playoffs, and the Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Brassard went on to say Tim Peel is one of the best refs in the NHL and he just took what Brass said the wrong way.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) December 7, 2015