Tim Peel, the infamous hot mic official, steps in to defend P.K. Subban amid slewfoot controversy

New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban has certainly been drawing more than his fair share of attention this season for a series of slew-foot plays - the most recent of which having ended New York Rangers forward Sammy Blais' season.

Subban has also caught Rangers forward Ryan Reaves and Calgary Flames winger Milan Lucic with similar plays, though both players were able to escape any serious injuries.

On Tuesday, Subban received some unlikely support from former NHL official Tim Peel, a long-time referee who was relieved of his duties earlier this year, due to the infamous "hot mic" fiasco.

Peel does not believe that Subban is clipping players the way he is with any real intent to injure, but rather just enduring a series of unfortunate collisions due to how he plays the game and how he pursues the puck.

"I can unequivocally say that PK Subban is not a dirty player," Peel tweeted on Tuesday. "I talked to PK and he told me this is just a bad habit that has crept into his game. I refereed him and I know him personally and I can guarantee he is not trying to intentionally hurt any player."

The video that Peel had quote-tweeted at has some pretty damning evidence of Subban routinely slew-footing opposing players during puck battles in order to gain an advantage. Have a look for yourself.

If Subban continues to play this way without altering his game, it's only a matter of time before someone else suffers the same fate as Sammy Blais - a prematurely ended season.

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