The Men of NHL Broadcasting: Good, Bad and NESN

[ihabs1993]

Being a Canadiens fan in Connecticut, and just a hockey fan in general, the Center Ice Package has been the greatest thing since sliced bread. Being able to watch every Habs game as well as every out of market game every night has made hockey a much more enjoyable experience. One aspect of the Center Ice Package that is both a blessing and a curse is the fact that every night, you can listen to a different announcer. The nice part about this is being given different perspectives and opinions on events that happen all over the league. The bad part about this is that some of the people who are employed by the various stations are absolutely terrible at what they do, yet some seem to have a cult like following from the fan base of the team that they cover. Therefore, I’ve decided to compile a list that I have been thinking about over the past few years as to who are the gentlemen who make hockey a better place with their rhetoric and journalistic prowess, and who are those who make me embrace the mute button on my television. Ratings are out of 5 stars.

 

Joe Beninati/Craig Laughlin: Washington Capitals

2 Stars

Their minimal knowledge of the game, combined with two voices that seem like incredibly bad ideas for SNL characters makes their broadcasts torturous to watch. Plus, Beninati’s tone is openly biased in favor of the Capitals, as you can hear whenever a goal is scored by the Caps, he wants to tear the roof off the place, but when it is a goal against, he acts as if someone just kicked his dog.

 

Rick Peckham/ Bobby Taylor: Tampa Bay Lightning

1.5 Stars

Peckham can call truly great games, as he is often spot on with his on the fly analysis and player identification. However, hearing Taylor sigh exasperatedly as Peckham is calling the game drives me absolutely insane. Here is a case of an analyst who is too much of a fan to be taken seriously. In his mind, there is nothing that the Lightning can do wrong, and they are always the teacher’s pet when it comes to on ice conduct.

 

Pete Weber/Terry Crisp: Nashville Predators

4 Stars

I know what you’re thinking, but it’s true. As is true in many places all over the league, non-traditional hockey markets tend to have great broadcasters, and Nashville is no exception. Weber never gets too excited during a game, but is able to move his tone along with the pace of the game. Also, Crisp is a very balanced and fair color man. Any network would be lucky to get broadcasters like these. So how did Nashville get them?

 

Gord Miller/Whoever they put with him: TSN National 

3.5 Stars

Let me get something straight. Gord Miller will go down as one of the greatest hockey broadcasters, journalists and personalities that the game will ever see. His knowledge of the game is close to the top of the league by far. One of my favorite aspects of Miller’s style is that he doesn’t try to force laughter as most broadcasters do, as I can recall one example recently where he sarcastically blamed Kanye West for causing poor ice conditions in a Caps-Habs game by having his concert there the night before. Whenever I see the Miller gets to call Habs’ games, I instantly get excited to watch hockey.

But then there’s the “analysts”. 

Ray Ferraro. Mike Johnson. Brian Engblom. These former players are so arrogant in their analysis of the game, as they are so firm in the idea that they all played in the “golden age” of hockey, when in reality they were lucky to get jobs at all. And worst of all is public enemy number one, Pierre McGuire, who seems to know ridiculous facts about players such as what Sidney Crosby had for lunch before game seven of the 2009 Stanley Cup Final. In short, Gord Miller is a living legend while the others can be, and should be, replaced.

 

Steve Goldstein/Bill Lindsay: Florida Panthers

4 Stars

Once again, here’s an example of a non-traditional hockey market with excellent broadcasters. Goldstein (not the traitor from George Orwell’s 1984) is able to call hockey very well while analyzing on the fly. He even sounds excited to call hockey games for the Panthers, which is somewhat surprising in that market. The only thing is that he may get too excited. I’m not talking about his tone in calling the game, as that stays pretty controlled, yet interested for the whole 60 minutes. The only thing keeping him from becoming a great broadcaster is his corny jokes. For example, when Brad Boyes scored against the Rangers, he started to sing, “Brad Boyes, Brad Boyes, whatcha gunna do?” which prompted me to change the channel until it was over.

Lindsay is not a bad color man either, as he normally knows when he should not jump in, and gives a pretty accurate analysis. Lindsay also doesn’t bring up the fact that he was a former player every five seconds which is refreshing. The only time I’ve heard him say it is when he has a story about a player that he used to play with or if Goldstein notices that the opponent is a former club of his.

 

I’m going to finish this article with two of the worst stations to watch hockey on. I apologize for my rant in advance.

 

Paul Steigerwald/Bob Erray: Pittsburgh Penguins

1 Star

There is only one other group of people who are larger homers than these two. A lack of common hockey knowledge combined with a bias that makes it seem as though they are paid by Sidney Crosby himself makes these broadcasts unwatchable. Every time Montreal plays the Penguins, the first time Subban touches the puck and gets jeered for it, Steiger, as they call him on the broadcasts, does not hesitate to explain that this is because of Subban’s intentional skate slashing of Jordan Staal, even though Staal isn’t even a penguin anymore. However, when Cooke caused a similar, but more severe, injury to Erik Karlsson of the Senators, the two on Roots Sports Pittsburgh swore that it was unintentional and that Cooke is a changed man. I think that’s enough there. Moving on.

 

Jack Edwards/Andy Brickley: Boston Bruins

0.5 Stars

How these two continue to be employed by NESN is frightening to say the least. I used to at least appreciate Brick, as he is a very good color man who is able to analyze breakdowns, breakouts and everything in between. He is the reason that I gave them any sort of grade at all. That is until the Brooks Orpik – Shawn Thornton incident, where he preached the code of the fighter and blamed Orpik for having his head smashed into the ice.

On the other hand, there’s Edwards, who uses cliché after cliché while bening unable to control the tone of his voice, or his own personal agenda. I don’t think Edwards has ever accused a Bruin of anything malicious or unsportsmanlike. There are a few incidents that are worthy of a look, including Edwards yelling at Roman Hammrlik to “GET UP!”, his comparison of Matt Cooke to Sirhan Sirhan, and his own private video of him standing outside the Bell Center in Montreal ranting about how the Canadiens are a diving team. Do the research yourself. It’s not that Canadiens fans hate him, hockey fans hate him.

 

Tell me what you think! Who do you love? Who do you hate? Disagree? Let me know!

Thanks for the read.

Ian

Ihabs1993 

 

[flyercanuck]

I can still remember getting Center Ice for the first time and having a rude awakening

to some of the horrid playcalling that goes on around the league. Whether it's homerism at it's worst, ignorance of the game, or some gawdawful voice that you can't stand, you get to hear them all.  

 

Edwards is terrible. I don't think it matters who calls the Pens games, it's complete homerism. It doesn't matter where Denis Potvin works I hate his whiny voice and the entire "it's all about me" thing he has that would rival Theismann in the NFL. And the words Doc Emerick uses to describe a hockey game...WTF is he watching?

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Good stuff @ihabs1993 , gotta say you were pretty spot on with the announce teams you mentioned.

 

I too have Centre Ice, and have had it for years living in both Clearwater, FL and now in Minneapolis, MN, and can say that it really is nice to get a different perspective on the team one normally follows.

Heck, if given a choice on say,  a Lightning broadcast in Minnesota, I will listen to the other team's announcers just to see what they have to say about the Bolts, knowing full well how the home announcers know the team.

 

Some commentary on some of the announce crews you mentioned:

 

1st off, I must say I have to absolutely agree on the ROOT Sports Pittsburgh group.

Normally, I am not one to be too concerned with broadcasters, Errey and 'Steggy' just irritate the crap out of me.

I remember watching a game with those two clowns and the ref made a non call against the Pen's opposition...it didn't lead to a goal or anything...yet one of the announcers kept whining about it the ENTIRE rest of the game!

Then you have the frat-boy like environment they seem to create in the booth, and well, sometimes I have to wonder whether I am listening to an NHL broadcast, or some local college keg filled pseudo broadcast on their lacrosse team.....

ANY set of announcers, and I mean ANY, are preferable than listening to those two.

 

On the Lightning broadcast, yes, Rick Peckham is a very, very good broadcaster. His voice is pretty much even keel with the right amount of excitement for the plays on the ice no matter WHO makes them. It's one of the reasons a station like VS previously and now NBC Sports has him on doing national broadcasts and playoff games.

The Chief Bobby Taylor on the other hand...well, I must say I am used to his 'style' simply because I have been listening to him for many years...going way back to the mid 90's.

 

That said, I CAN see how people can find him irritating. He is a SUPER homer and yes, the refs can do no right by the Lightning as far as he is concerned.

He also tends to trip over his own delivery on the mike on occasion, and will also call out a wrong player or go on a mini rant about a call or non call...before realizing that's not what happened.

 

Many have carried The Chief throughout the years, but Rick Peckham does it with the most style.

Bobby Taylor has many flaws in his broadcast game, and he won't ever be called upon to do national games, but I will admit to being a bit biased towards him just based on the fact I have listened to his hilarity in broadcasting since I was a young girl.

 

I also do like the Florida Panthers broadcast team. I think they have the right mix of excitement, professionalism AND homerism that should appeal to fans and non fans of the Panthers alike.

 

The St. Louis Blues have a pretty good tandem as well. John Kelly, I believe, along with Darren Pang (HOOOLY JUMPIN!!)

They can be quite homerish, but not so much that I can't listen to their broadcasts.

 

Also, out west, Anaheim Ducks Prime Ticket announcers John Ahlers and Brian Heyward do a pretty good job and are quite listenable even to non-Ducks fans.

 

The Carolina Hurricanes broadcast team of John Forslund and Tripp Tracy, while not being the pinnacle of professionalism, are pretty fun to listen to as well...particuarly Forslund's tone as plays develop ending with a "He SCOOOOOOOOOORES" in an almost singing-like fashion.

 

Broadcasters I don't really care for, other than the aforementioned wretches of ROOT Sports Pittsburgh?

 

The Vancouver broadcasters...a bit too subdued. In fact, given the late time slot I would be watching their games, they may downright put me to sleep!!

 

Also, I know many here love them because of their familiarity, but the Philly broadcasters do nothing for me...especially the main play by play guy who just has an odd delivery in his style. Almost an uneven, no rhyme or reason, style where his voice seems to go UP...then doooownn...when calling plays or even players' names! 

Just too weird and disjointing for me....PLUS, he may be a bit too homerish for any but Flyer fans to really appreciate.

 

NY Rangers broadcaster Sam Rosen bugs me a bit as well. Very homerish and he just has a weird way of saying "Rangers" which bothers me...I dunno, something like RAIN-JERRRS.

He goes from sleepy sounding to very excited when NY scores...in which case he peppers the airwaves with HE SCORES! and the RAIN-JERRRS LEAD 1-0!

 

Finally, current local Minnesota Wild broadcasts.

They have Anthonly LaPanta who is in his first year being the primary play by play guy. He isn't bad.

He basically works for FSN North, and can be heard doing stuff for not only the Wild, but the Twins, Gophers, and a bunch of other local teams as well.

His partner, Mike Greenlay...arrrghh. 

 

Not only is that guy too homerish for his own good, but he too often gets calls, plays, and several other things wrong during games.......and for some reason, seems to go out of his way to throw in the team name "WILD" in just about every sentence.

I mean, I KNOW that is the local team, but dammit, we ARE listening to a Wild broadcast..of COURSE it's the WILD. Stop telling us that already!

He too has a funny way of saying his team's name....almost like a drawl-like pronunciation... WYYYYY---LLLD.

Constantly...incessantly.....make it STOP already!!  

 

Anyways, good topic post, ihabs...I enjoyed it!

Edited January 2, 2014 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[ihabs1993]

@TropicalFruitGirl26 Thanks for the read and for your opinion!

I too appreciate the blues broadcasts and I find Panger to be one of the most underrated television personalities in the league! Unfortunately, I can't stay awake for the Anaheim games but from what I've seen, they're not bad either. I totally agree on the Rangers as well! Being in Connecticut, I see too many of those games to be able to tolerate him anymore. The color guy (his name escapes me right now) is actually pretty decent and is able to point out trends in games as they develop instead of after the game like most others decide to do it. Unfortunately, if I have to hear "IT'S A POWERPLAY GOAL!!!!" in that ridiculously over done voice one more time, I might call my cable provider to have MSG removed from my cable plan! One guy I didn't mention, but with your Lightning being in the same division, you must have heard the Toronto broadcaster scream "HOLY MACKANOFF" at least once or twice, right? Kind of unbearable if you ask me... And totally agree on the Flyers guys too! Especially in the intermission, we have to listen to Bill "Hands of Cement" Clement pretend to know what's going on in today's NHL

Thanks again for the read!

[ihabs1993]

I can still remember getting Center Ice for the first time and having a rude awakening

to some of the horrid playcalling that goes on around the league. Whether it's homerism at it's worst, ignorance of the game, or some gawdawful voice that you can't stand, you get to hear them all.  

 

Edwards is terrible. I don't think it matters who calls the Pens games, it's complete homerism. It doesn't matter where Denis Potvin works I hate his whiny voice and the entire "it's all about me" thing he has that would rival Theismann in the NFL. And the words Doc Emerick uses to describe a hockey game...WTF is he watching?

Haha true all around! I don't particularly dislike Doc, but I have to admit that his vocabulary is a bit odd to say the least! Thanks for the read!

[Polaris922]

As a die hard Pens fan I agree Steigerwald sucks. I can't stand him but I'm stuck with him. I DO like Bob Errey though. His color is often off shade but you can't say the man doesn't know the game.

I much prefer Mike Lange and Phil Borque but radio's 7 second lead over television makes it unusable.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Got to listen in on the Isles' MSG guys...they are pretty good.

For a while, I couldn't figure out whether they were broadcasting FOR the Isles or the opposition...they were that even keeled.

 

Also, have to throw in the Colorado Altitude television announcers in the "dull" category.

They don't really say or do anything bad per se...but  much like the Vancouver guys, they just seem to put me to sleep....or at the very least, my attention span wanders when they are talking.

 

And the Bruins NESN guys... lol....

I MUCH prefer the NESN Red Sox baseball guys to the guy who is incredibly UN-funny doing Bruins broadcast play by play...

[Chicago Hawkie]

This is a great thread topic!

 

I like the Chicago tandem of Pat Foley and Ed Olczyk.  Yeah, they may seem a bit "homer-ish" (as my Wings fan dad believes, to a point), but they also tell it like it is.  For example, if a call goes against the Hawks but it is the right call, they will say so.  If a Hawks takes a stupid penalty, they will say so.

 

I will probably comment on this thread later, also.

[ihabs1993]

This is a great thread topic!

 

I like the Chicago tandem of Pat Foley and Ed Olczyk.  Yeah, they may seem a bit "homer-ish" (as my Wings fan dad believes, to a point), but they also tell it like it is.  For example, if a call goes against the Hawks but it is the right call, they will say so.  If a Hawks takes a stupid penalty, they will say so.

 

I will probably comment on this thread later, also.

See I like the combo in Chicago! I think Ed Olczyk is one of the best color commentators in today's NHL

[jammer2]

 Denis Potvin should be drawn and quartered....can't stand a single word he says!!!

[Chicago Hawkie]

See I like the combo in Chicago! I think Ed Olczyk is one of the best color commentators in today's NHL

 

This may sound weird, but I think Ed Olczyk reminds me a bit of Mickey Redmond with how he analyzes the games.  They both give hockey tips that begin with "All you young hockey players out there ...".