NHL referee sparks controversy with comments caught on hot mic.

A National Hockey League referee has come under fire after a hot mic picked up comments he made to a player on the ice during a game in the NHL on Friday night.

On Friday, during a clash between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals, NHL referee Kelly Sutherland was involved in a controversial moment just 20 seconds into the game. Sutherland would blow a play dead, thinking that the puck had been covered up by Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll, when in actuality the puck was still loose in the crease.

The Capitals would score what should have been a good goal on the play but, as a result of Sutherland's early whistle, the goal was taken off the board. Here is a look at the replay:

While that in and of itself would have been notable, the controversy was ramped up several minutes later when Sutherland was caught admitting his mistake on a hot mic. Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk skated up to Sutherland to let him know that he wasn't happy about having one of his assists taken off the board, to which Sutherland replied by telling van Riemsdyk that he had gotten it wrong.

"I know I did, I owe you one somewhere," Sutherland can be heard saying to van Riemsdyk on the hot mic.

You can hear the exchange in the short clip below:

Some fans, understandably, don't like the language being used by Sutherland here when he says "I owe you one" especially considering another recent hot mic controversy featuring an NHL referee. NHL referee Tim Peel was fired in 2021 after he was caught admitting on a hot mic that he was looking for a reason to penalize the Nashville Predators.

Sutherland is however one of the most well respected referees in the NHL and I don't interpret his comments as a suggestion that he is looking for a makeup call. Instead they simply sound to me like the words of a man who knows he made a mistake and wants to do the right thing by admitting that he should have done better.

Thankfully the Capitals were not negatively impacted by the goal being taken off the board, with the final score a 4-2 win for the Capitals over the Maple Leafs in regulation.