Preds coach Peter Laviolette at center of hockey's first, uh, winking scandal

Predators coach Peter Laviolette has been one of the NHL's most successful coaches this season, but during a recent game against Chicago, he strayed into the realm of conspiracy theorist in accusing a referee of winking at the other team.

Many things get said between NHL coaches and on-ice officials during a game. But it's safe to say the conversation that recently took place between Predators head coach Peter Laviolette and referee Kevin Pollock will not be seen again anytime soon.

During a game between the Blackhawks and Preds at the end of December, Laviolette took umbrage with what he perceived to be Pollock winking at the Blackhawks' bench. And he did not take it well at all. At. All.

(via reddit user Gumpyyy)

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au68N4JwCl8[/embed]

It's difficult to imagine Pollock choosing to imperil his professional reputation and that of his sport by engaging in a conspiracy with Hawks coach Joel Quenneville, let alone Pollock foolishly revealing the conspiracy with a wink at Chicago's bench while the Predators players are right there staring at him. But from a sheer entertainment perspective, hearing instantly immortal lines such as "don't lie to me and tell me you didn't wink", "I literally just saw him wink", and "don't go wink at that bench" (originally performed by Elton John and Kiki Dee) makes Laviolette's paranoia worthwhile.