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List of Canadian Stanley Cup Finals television announcers

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This is a list of Canadian Stanley Cup Finals television announcers.

Play-by-play (English)

[edit]
Announcer Years Network(s)
Chris Cuthbert 2021–present CBC/Sportsnet
Bob Cole 19802008 CBC
Danny Gallivan 19531960; 19651979 CBC
Bill Hewitt 19591964; 1967; 1970; 1972; 1974 CBC
Jim Hughson 20092020 CBC/Sportsnet
Dan Kelly 19781980; 19851988 CBC
CTV
Canwest/Global
Jim Robson 1975; 1980; 19821983 CBC
Don Wittman 19851986 CBC

ABC feed

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Announcer Years Network(s)
Sean McDonough 2022 (Game 6), 2024 Citytv

Color commentary (English)

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Announcer Years Network(s)
Keith Dancy 19641966 CBC
John Davidson 19851988 CBC
Canwest/Global
Gary Dornhoefer 19791985 CBC
Bob Goldham 1970, 1972 CBC
Foster Hewitt 19591960 CBC
Dick Irvin Jr. 19671980; 1982; 1984; 1986; 1989; 19911994 CBC
Brian McFarlane 1967; 1970; 1972; 1974 CBC
Greg Millen 20072008 CBC
Harry Neale 19872007 CBC
Brad Park 19851986 CTV
Mickey Redmond 19811984, 1986 CBC
Ron Reusch 19851986 CTV
Frank Selke Jr. 19581960 CBC
Craig Simpson 2009–present CBC/Sportsnet

ABC feed

[edit]
Announcer Years Network(s)
Brian Boucher 2022 (Game 6) Citytv

Ice level analysts (English)

[edit]
Announcer Years Network(s)
Glenn Healy 20102016 CBC/Sportsnet

ABC feed

[edit]
Announcer Years Network(s)
Ray Ferraro 2022 (Game 6), 2024 Citytv
Announcer Years Network(s)
David Amber 20172018 CBC/Sportsnet
Kyle Bukauskas 2019–present CBC/Sportsnet
Chris Cuthbert 19871990, 1997 CBC
Elliotte Friedman 20042012, 2016 CBC/Sportsnet
Scott Oake 19862020 CBC/Sportsnet
Scott Russell 19952003 CBC
Christine Simpson 2015 CBC/Sportsnet

ABC feed

[edit]
Announcer Years Network(s)
Emily Kaplan 2022 (Game 6), 2024 Citytv

Studio host(s)

[edit]
Announcer Years Network(s)
David Amber 2020–present CBC/Sportsnet
Mike Anscombe 1974 CBC
Steve Armitage 1982 (in Vancouver) CBC
Ward Cornell 19591971 CBC
Ted Darling 19691970 CBC
Johnny Esaw 1960 CBC
Tom Foley 19581959 CBC
Dave Hodge 19721986 CBC
CTV
Dick Irvin Jr. 19771979 (in Montreal) CBC
Dan Kelly 1968, 19781979 (in Montreal) CBC
Ron MacLean 1987–present CBC/Sportsnet
Brian McFarlane 19711973, 1975 CBC
CTV
Dan Matheson 19851986 CTV
Scott Oake 2008 CBC
Dave Reynolds 19751977 CBC
Ted Reynolds 1973 CBC
Scott Russell 1997 CBC
Frank Selke Jr. 19611967 CBC
George Stroumboulopoulos 20152016 CBC/Sportsnet
John Wells 19831984 (in Edmonton) CBC
Scott Young 1959 CBC

ABC feed

[edit]
Announcer Years Network(s)
Steve Levy 2022 (Game 6), 2024 Citytv

Studio analyst(s)

[edit]
Announcer Years Network(s)
Kevin Bieksa 2020–present CBC/Sportsnet
Jennifer Botterill 2022–present CBC/Sportsnet
Brian Burke 2020 CBC/Sportsnet
Don Cherry 19812019 CBC/Sportsnet
Cassie Campbell-Pascall 20202021 CBC/Sportsnet
Elliotte Friedman 2013–present CBC/Sportsnet
Kelly Hrudey 1997, 2006–present CBC
Nick Kypreos 20152019 CBC/Sportsnet
Howie Meeker 1976, 19791981, 19831984 CBC
Brad Park 19851986 CTV
Frank J. Selke 19631967 CBC
Craig Simpson 2008 CBC
Anthony Stewart 2020 CBC/Sportsnet
P.J. Stock 20092014 CBC/Sportsnet

ABC feed

[edit]
Announcer Years Network(s)
Brian Boucher 2022 (Game 6) Citytv
Chris Chelios 2022 (Game 6) Citytv
Mark Messier 2022 (Game 6), 2024 Citytv
P. K. Subban 2024 Citytv

English-language networks

[edit]

CBC's coverage of Games 3, 4 and 5 of the 1954 Stanley Cup Finals were joined in progress at 9:30 p.m. (approximately one hour after start time). Meanwhile, CBC joined Game 6 in at 10 p.m. (again, one hour after start time). Game 7 was carried Dominion wide (nationwide) from opening the face off at 9 p.m. Since Game 7 was played on Good Friday night, there were no commercials (Imperial Oil was the sponsor).

The 1961 Stanley Cup Finals were almost not televised in Canada at all. At that time, the CBC only had rights to the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs' games; home games only during the season and all games in the playoffs. However, with both the Canadiens and Maple Leafs eliminated in the semi-finals, the CBC's worst nightmare became reality. The CBC had to conceive a way to carry the Finals between the Chicago Black Hawks-Detroit Red Wings or face public revolt. According to lore, the CBC found a way to link their Windsor viewers as having a vested interest in the Finals with the across the river Red Wings. Thus, CBC was able to carry the series after inking special contracts with the Red Wings and Black Hawks as a service to the Windsor market. From Windsor, CBC linked the signal to Toronto and they relayed the coverage Dominion-wide. From there, Canadians were able to see the Finals with nary a glitch in the coverage.

To accommodate the American TV coverage on NBC (1966 marked the first time that a Stanley Cup Finals game was to be nationally broadcast on American network television), Game 1 of the 1966 Stanley Cup Finals was shifted to a Sunday afternoon. This in return, was the first time ever that a National Hockey League game was played on a Sunday afternoon in Montreal. While Games 1 and 4 of the NBC broadcasts were televised in color, CBC carried these games and all other games in black and white.

The most commonly seen video clip of Bobby Orr's famous overtime goal ("The Flight") in Game 4 of the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals is the American version broadcast on CBS as called by Dan Kelly. This archival clip can be considered a rarity, since about 98% of the time, any surviving kinescopes or videotapes of the actual telecasts of hockey games from this era usually emanate from CBC's coverage. According to Dick Irvin Jr.'s book My 26 Stanley Cups (Irvin was in the CBC booth with Danny Gallivan during the 1970 Stanley Cup Finals), he was always curious why even the CBC prototypically uses the CBS replay of the Bobby Orr goal (with Dan Kelly's commentary) instead of Gallivan's call. The explanation that Irvin received was that the CBC's master tape of the game (along with others) was thrown away in order clear shelf space at the network.

In 1972, Hockey Night in Canada moved all playoff coverage from CBC to CTV to avoid conflict with the lengthy NABET strike[1] against the CBC. Eventually, MacLaren Advertising, in conjunction with Molson Breweries and Imperial Oil/Esso, who actually owned the rights to Hockey Night in Canada (not CBC) decided to give the playoff telecast rights to CTV. Initially, it was on a game by game basis in the quarterfinals (Game 1 of the Boston-Toronto series was seen on CFTO Toronto in full while other CTV affiliates, but not all joined the game in progress. Game 1 of the New York RangersMontreal series was seen only on CFCF Montreal while Game 4 not televised due to a lockout of technicians at the Montreal Forum), and then the full semifinals and Stanley Cup Finals. Because CTV did not have 100% penetration in Canada at this time, they asked CBC (who ultimately refused) to allow whatever one of their affiliates were the sole network in that market to show the playoffs. As a result, the 1972 Stanley Cup playoffs were not seen in some of the smaller Canadian markets unless said markets were close enough to the United States border to pick up the signal of a CBS affiliate that carried Games, 1, 4, or 6 (Games 2, 3 and 5 were not nationally broadcast in the United States).

In 1980, Bob Cole, Dan Kelly and Jim Robson shared play-by-play duties for CBC's coverage. Cole did play-by-play for the first half of Games 1 and 2. Meanwhile, Kelly did play-by-play for the second half Games 1–5 (Kelly also did call the overtime period of Game 1). Finally, Robson did play-by-play for first half of Games 3 and 4 and Game 6 entirely. Except for Game 5, Kelly did play-by-play for the first period and first half Games 5, and Jim Robson play-by-play for the rest of Game 5. In essence this meant that Bob Cole or Jim Robson would do play-by-play for the first period and the first half of the second period. Therefore, at the closest stoppage of play near the 10 minute mark of the second period, Cole or Robson handed off the call to Kelly for the rest of the game.

In 1985, CBC televised Games 1 and 2 nationally while Games 3–5 were televised in Edmonton only. CTV televised Games 3–5 nationally while games were blacked out in Edmonton. Dan Kelly, Ron Reusch, and Brad Park called the games on CTV. In 1986, CBC only televised Games 1 and 2 in Montreal and Calgary. CBC televised Games 3–5 nationally. When CTV televised Games 1 and 2,[2] both games were blacked out in Montreal and Calgary. Like in the year prior, Dan Kelly, Ron Reusch, and Brad Park called the games for CTV.

Unlike the split CTV/CBC coverage of 1984–85 and 1985–86, the Canwest-Global telecasts from 1986–87-1987–88 were network exclusive, except for Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals if they were necessary. When CBC and Global televised Game 7 of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals,[3][4] they used separate production facilities and separate on-air talent.

Sportsnet gained the national broadcast rights starting in 2014–15. Under a sub-licensing agreement since the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals, the CBC broadcast has been produced by Sportsnet; all Stanley Cup Finals games have been also simulcast on Sportsnet since 2017. Since Game 6 in 2022, Sportsnet's sister station Citytv has simulcast the American broadcast feed for simultaneous substitution purposes.

Play-by-play (French)

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Announcer Years Network(s)
Richard Garneau 19861990 SRC
Pierre Houde 20032014 RDS
SRC
Rene Lecavalier 19531985 SRC
Jacques Moreau 1973 TVA
Claude Quenneville 19912002 SRC
Felix Seguin 2015–present TVA

Color commentary (French)

[edit]
Announcer Years Network(s)
Jean-Maurice Bailly 19531970 SRC
Michel Bergeron 19992002 SRC
Benoit Brunet 20092011 RDS
Marc Denis 20122014 RDS
Patrick Lalime 2015–present TVS
Yvon Pedneault 20032008 RDS
Gilles Tremblay 19711998 SRC
TVA
Mario Tremblay 1986 SRC

French-language networks

[edit]

References

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  1. ^ "Strike Forces CBS to Change Hockey Feature". Los Angeles Times. February 21, 1972. p. F12.
  2. ^ McKee, Ken (May 16, 1986). "Networks split TV coverage of Stanley Cup". Toronto Star. p. D4.
  3. ^ 1987 Stanley Cup Final post game (part 1) from Global on YouTube
  4. ^ 1987 Stanley Cup Final post game (part 2) from Global on YouTube