TORONTO (Sep. 10) — After all that fuss, we get Colby Armstrong, straight–up, for Kelly Hrudey and Jennifer Botterill. A money saver (big surprise) for Rogers Communications. But, nowhere near a blockbuster. Certainly not grandiose enough to generate chatter among hockey viewers in this country. And, probably insufficient to move the ratings needle one millimeter. Without some form of “hook” or “grab”, Saturday Night Hockey (imagine the hours of backroom meetings at Rogers to arrive at such an innovative tag) will continue to lose much of its viewing audience for the 18 minutes of live programming after the first and second periods. Rogers and Sportsnet have provided virtually nothing to preclude bathroom breaks and visits to the refrigerator. It’s really quite astonishing.
Trust me when I tell you that men, for 32–plus years, held their bladders and suppressed their appetities during the seven minutes of Don Cherry and Ron MacLean on Coach’s Corner. In fact, much of the nation paused each Saturday at roughly the same time. Including those that were not remotely interested in the game or the final score. It was part of their routine to turn on Hockey Night in Canada during the first intermission and hear what Grapes had to say. I do not anticipate Colby Armstrong achieving such prominence. And it shows that retaining Elliotte Friedman and Kevin Bieksa was the lone effort made by Rogers to try and hold its intermission audience.
Apart, however, from Friedman’s Saturday Headlines between the second and third period, there is nothing unique about the Sportsnet telecast. TV viewers, world wide, have been “panelled” to death in the past decade. It is the cheapest filler of time, but it requires names and voices that resonate. That’s why ESPN/TNT trotted out Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier and Chris Chelios, three of the best players in National Hockey League history.
Immigrants from Botswana are familiar with Gretzky, while Chelios has forever been among the most–candid voices in the game (but, imagine the patch–work required with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman after Chelios famously suggested that “some player or even a crazed fan” would harm the hockey czar at the beginning of the 1994–95 owners’ lockout). P.K. Subban, also opinionated, adds a fourth quality voice to the telecast. The name–recognition and dialogue work very well with American hockey viewers, who have never — and will never — show up in numbers close to the other three major pro sports (football, baseball, basketball). The Bettman administration has done exceptionally well in modernizing the game and elevating recognition south of the 49th. While working within the forever confines of hockey awareness in portions of the country. Here in the Great White North, where a much–larger percentage of the population shows interest, an equally high bar must be established.
Problem is, Ed the Conqueror’s media faction wants virtually nothing to do with strong opinion or the incitement of viewers. Both of which are required to move the ratings needle. Again, I have nothing against Colby Armstrong, but there’s a million Colbys out there; former journeymen players with good knowledge of the sport. What the Saturday night presentation needs — and which it had until November 2019 — is an habitual reason to watch the first intermission. Some form of roundtable with a dedicated host and three participants who are unafraid to speak their minds. Even if the subject involves the “home” team, as Rogers owns and controls 100 percent of the Maple Leafs. That egregious conflict of interest will never be minimized… but it can be somewhat neutralized with the proper names and voices. What I would do, and Steve Simmons mentioned this in a recent Toronto Sun column, is lure Bryan Hayes away from TSN with a promise that, within three years, he’ll move into MacLean’s long–time role as intermission host. In the interim, allow Bryan to conduct the first intermission roundtable; in his time with TSN Overdrive, he has become the most–skilled and recognizable sports–radio voice since Bob McCown.
Try and grab Jeff O’Neill, as well. The O’Dog is precisely what Hockey Night In Canada has lacked since firing Cherry. Bring back Glenn Healy, the sharpest between–the–benches analyst in Hockey Night history. Healy, head of the NHL Alumni, understands the game as well as anyone on TV in Canada or the States; he’s more–eloquent and jocular than most. And, he played the game alongside such legends as Gretzky, Messier, Brian Leetch, Mike Bossy and Denis Potvin. It was an ignorant move to take Glenn off the Saturday telecast nearly a decade ago. Get him back, as the company did with Nick Kypreos and Gord Stellick, both of whom were also jettisoned. The fourth position could easily be filled by Brian Burke, if he still has a desire to enact the knowledgeable rabble–rouser. Burke has accomplished everything in hockey, but he’s 71 years of age and seems content to slow down.
Another perfect choice, once he retires, would be Nazem Kadri, an outlier within the current NHL ranks as a candid speaker. Most hockey players are overwhelmingly vanilla — as programmed by agents and handlers. Kadri is not among them. A recently retired pro that hasn’t been spoken about in this realm would do very well on the roundtable: Joe Thornton. Jumbo Joe, with his engaging smile and long, bushy beard, is recognizable to most hockey observers; I’ve always enjoyed his take on the game and the way he presents himself… as kind of the smiling assassin. Despite his easygoing nature, Thornton is extremely intelligent and would not shy from challenging dialogue. Hall–of–Fame players Brett Hull and Jeremy Roenick have also long been recognized for bluntness on hockey matters. They would add credibility and dazzle to the show. Has there ever been a more–entertaining player interview than Ilya Bryzgalov, the Russiasn–born goalie in the NHL from 2001–15, mostly with Phoenix, Anaheim and Philadelphia? Ol’ Bryz would have television viewers in hysterics with his thick European accent and bizarre tales. What a perfect and unique way to kick it up a notch between periods on Saturday Night Hockey.
All of this, of course, is a pipedream in Ed the Conqueror’s domain. The cost of watching hockey is forever increasing, yet there is virtually no draw, beyond the game, to the Saturday night telecast. With advertising revenue so critical to offset the 12–year, $11 billion contract with the NHL, you’d think Rogers would give it more of a try.
STILL, MY MOST–COVETED ITEMS…
Digging, today, into my large box of programs from Toronto Maple Leafs games between 1967 and 1971. These are the items in my hockey collection that have the most–sentimental value. And, likely, some monetary worth after nearly 60 years. Please enjoy. Lots more to come:
FROM CHICAGO STADIUM (ABOVE AND BELOW) DURING THE 1967 STANLEY CUP SEMIFINALS BETWEEN THE BLACK HAWKS AND MAPLE LEAFS. CHICAGO WAS PROHIBITIVELY FAVORED, BUT FELL TO TORONTO IN SIX GAMES.
COVERS OF MAPLE LEAF GARDENS FROGRAMS (ABOVE AND BELOW) FROM IN THE LATE–1960’s.
IT WAS THE EARLY EXPANSION ERA IN THE NHL AND THE NEW TEAMS WERE FEATURED (ABOVE).
PROGRAM–INSERTS AND LINE–UPS (ABOVE AND BELOW) FOR LEAFS GAMES IN 1970–71.
THE BRUINS CAME TO TOWN ON THE FINAL WEEKEND OF THE ’70–71 REGULAR SCHEDULE AND PUMMELED THE MAPLE LEAFS, 8–3. LOOK AT BOSTON’S CRAZY NUMBERS (BELOW) FROM THAT RECORD–BREAKING SEASON.
PROGRAM–INSERT AND SCORECARD FROM DETROIT AT TORONTO ON WEDNESDAY, MAR. 11, 1970.
DURING THE 1969 CHRISTMAS BREAK, I ATTENDED THIS TORONTO–LOS ANGELES GAME WITH MY MOM, DAD AND SISTER. LINE–UPS, BELOW, INCLUDED EDDIE SHACK SKATING FOR THE KINGS. DAVE KEON LED THE LEAFS IN SCORING.
I’VE WRITTEN ABOUT THE NHL CONSIDERING A SWITCH BACK TO TEAMS WEARING PREDOMINANTLY WHITE (OR LIGHT) JERSEYS AT HOME, AS BETWEEN 1970–71 AND 2002–03. HOW I ATTENDED THIS EXHIBITION GAME (ABOVE AND BELOW) BETWEEN THE LEAFS AND MINNESOTA… AND WAS AMAZED WHEN THE NORTH STARS (LED BY GUMP WORSLEY) EMERGED WEARING THEIR ALL–GREEN SETS (HOME UNIFORMS IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS OF THE FRANCHISE).
PROGRAM INSERTS IN 1971–72 WERE STILL SPONSORED, ON THE REAR COVER, BY CIGARETTE COMPANIES (ABOVE). I REMEMBER HOW EXCITED THE CITY WAS, DURING AND AFTER THIS LEAFS–CHICAGO ENCOUNTER (NOV. 27, 1971), FOR THE GREY CUP GAME THE FOLLOWING DAY, AS THE TORONTO ARGONAUTS AND CALGARY STAMPEDERS WERE HOOKING UP IN VANCOUVER. THE BLACK HAWKS WERE A POWERHOUSE THAT SEASON. LINE–UPS, BELOW.
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