The Loop

NHL player tells ref "I can do whatever I want" after ref tells him to move, is getting soap in his mouth

December 06, 2018

Remember our guy Colton Parayko? The one who made the effort play of the year in the NHL with this sick, one-handed goal to beat the Colorado Avalanche in overtime last Friday night? Well, he's the talk of hockey Twitter once again, and this time it's not for a highlight-reel goal, but for something even better: putting a ref in his place.

The hilarious moment occurred during the overtime period of the St. Louis Blues' home game against against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. Less than 50 seconds in, Parayko took the puck behind the net and waited, a common occurrence in the NHL's (semi)new 3-on-3 OT format in which teams prioritize puck control above all. To be fair, Parayko took a few liberties with this strategy, parking it behind the cage for a good 10 seconds. That's when the ref told him to "Move it!" and Parayko fired back with a perfect response:

If you watch a lot of NHL games, you've probably heard a zebra tell guys tied up in the corner to "let's go, move it boys!" just to keep the game flowing. So this isn't out of the ordinary, and there is a delay of game penalty if you hold the puck behind the net, but that's only when if you do it for a full minute. Parayko could have literally did whatever he wanted and sat there for another 49 seconds before actually ever getting a penalty. Funny stuff, especially the part where the ref says "really?!" like a parent in shock after hearing something they didn't expect to hear from their kid.

Unfortunately for Parayko and the Blues, they lost in a shootout thanks to this unbelievable goal from Connor McDavid, who does whatever he damn wants on the ice every night: