TSN's ultimate insider Bob McKenzie announces his retirement from a life of hockey scoops
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One of the best regarded hockey voices in the business announced his retirement on Tuesday as the July 1 as free agent frenzy wound down and the NHL drifted towards another off-season.
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'Today's Free Agent Frenzy is the last working day in a 48-year professional career that included stops at The Sault Star, The Globe and Mail, The Hockey News (twice), The Toronto Star, TSN, ESPN and NBC, amongst others,' McKenzie wrote on X announcing his departure from a lifetime of gathering and dispensing hockey news and insight. 'It's been quite a ride.'
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McKenzie, who will turn 69 in August, had been semi-retired for the past several years but felt it was time to walk away from the sport that has been his passion and his livelihood for so long.
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That journey, through so many outlets, saw McKenzie rise to become one of the most trusted voices in the sport — an insider with a keen analyst's touch — who informed generations of hockey fans. Whether it was breaking NHL deals, shining with his role in TSN's coverage of the world juniors, or his in-depth breakdown of prospects and draft coverage, he's long been one of the best in the business.
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'I decided a few months ago it's as nice a time as any to call it a career with the expiry of my current contract,' McKenzie wrote. 'If I had been so inclined to continue doing the World Juniors and draft rankings etc. at TSN, the opportunity was certainly there for me to do so. And I'm so grateful to TSN for that.'
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As much as McKenzie loved (and lived) for the world juniors, he's looking forward to a different pace over the Christmas holidays. And a life of leisure away from the camera.
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'Honestly, I am looking forward to waking up on Christmas morning this year and NOT flying to Minneapolis-St. Paul for the World Juniors,' McKenzie wrote. 'I'm also looking forward to doing more travelling with my wife Cindy; having more time to give my sons Mike and Shawn unwanted (and unneeded) advice; playing even more golf than I am now; and having my two wonderful grandchildren Blake and Gunnar running my show on a full-time basis.'
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A newspaper man at his core, McKenzie was one of the first to make the transition from print to television and handled the transition with aplomb. In that regard, he was a trailblazer, though it was never something he intended.
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'I certainly never set out to be the TSN Hockey Insider,' McKenzie wrote. 'It never occurred to me that I would work in television. All I wanted to be when I grew up was a hockey writer, to have a 'job' to watch, write and talk about the game. You know, tell a few stories and capture the spirit of the thing.
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