Kevin Bieksa stood up for his co-host on Monday night, but not everybody was a fan of his message.
On Sunday night, prior to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights, Ron MacLean, who works on Sportsnet’s panel alongside Bieksa, cracked a joke that many took offence to.
MacLean was addressing Kyle Bukauskas and the Keeper of the Stanley Cup, who was pretending to sleep. With the game being played in Las Vegas, MacLean quoted a line from the movie The Hangover, which drew some controversy.
Ron McLean actively trying to get himself into an early retirement tonight by making a roofie joke.
āthe roofies, theyāll get you every time.ā
Donāt even try to suggest this isnāt worse than what Cherry was done in for. Unreal. pic.twitter.com/gFp0omVe8m
— Daniel Perianu (@perianudan) June 15, 2026
MacLean apologized to viewers a short time later, but was still taking a ton of flak. That’s when Bieksa chose to chime in and defend the 66-year-old, whom the former Vancouver Canucks defenceman referred to as a “great teammate and better human.”
My opinion:
Imagine we were all capable of making this apology without hesitation, on air, live, with class and elegance and no ego. Most arenāt.Fact:
Ron is a great teammate and better human! https://t.co/cVB8ltx1Rs— Kevin Bieksa (@kbieksa3) June 16, 2026
Bieksa’s post had mixed responses, though one individual who clearly didn’t agree with him was Tim Peel.
The former NHL referee, who was fired over a hot-mic incident over five years ago, blasted Bieksa and MacLean in a very heated response.
“What a kiss ass,” Peel replied to Bieksa. “Don Cherry got thrown under the bus, and then Ron MacLean backed up and drove over him. You are not the same person that I knew that played our great game, and now you’re a kiss ass.”
Peel wasn’t done there, either. Just minutes later, he sent out another message blasting MacLean and referring to the entire country of Canada as “a bunch of hypocrites.”
Hey @Sportsnet you fired @CoachsCornerDC for telling people to wear a Poppy on Remembrance Day. But you condone @Ron_MacLean joking about somebody being roofied.
God, I love that I donāt live in Canada anymore what a bunch of hypocrites.— Tim Peel (@TimCPeel20) June 16, 2026
Bieksa hasn’t offered up a response to Peel, though many fans on X did defend him.
“Tim, you would never say this to Bieksa’s face,” one user wrote. “Guy would absolutely beat the wheels right off ya.”
Bieksa enjoyed an 808-game career, which concluded after the 2017-18 season. Over that span, which saw him play for the Canucks and Anaheim Ducks, he racked up 1,124 penalty minutes.
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