On January 16, 2010, MacLean presented a pre-game piece together with NHL representative Colin Campbell focusing on Vancouver Canucks player Alexandre Burrows, in follow up to an earlier incident between Burrows and referee Stéphane Auger in which the credibility of Auger was called into question. The piece was considered by a number of prominent sports writers, Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, and some fans to be a one-sided smear against Burrows. MacLean appeared on Vancouver-based sports radio show Team 1040 on January 18, 2010, and strongly denied being biased or one-sided during his presentation. In 2017, MacLean apologized to postal workers after suggesting their jobs were "effectively obsolete."