NHL broadcasting legend Bob McKenzie retires from TSN after 25 years
Indeed, at 4:10 p.m. ET on July 1, he was posting on X (formerly known as Twitter) about Justin Danfourth being signed by the Buffalo Sabres. At 4:38 p.m. ET, he was posting about his total retirement from sports broadcasting and TSN, a stark contrast to his bio on X as "Washed up Hockey Insider."
McKenzie, who will turn 69 in August, has been one of hockey's eminent voices since he began appearing on TSN in the mid-1980s. He wrote that while he has been semi-retired for the past five years, it's time to officially call it quits from the broadcasting game.
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TSN, for those unfamiliar, refers to "The Sports Network," one of Canada's leading distributors of sports alongside Sportsnet. McKenzie worked for TSN full-time from 2000, but he was appearing on the network since, as he writes, 1986-87.
Reactions to Bob McKenzie retirement
While McKenzie is ubiquitous with hockey, Canadian sports fans as a whole would recognize his voice, if not his face. As such, plenty of fans had reactions to losing one of the great voices of the sport.
Bob McKenzie is the absolute 🐐.Gonna be weird to not have him around - but he's more than earned all the Margaritas coming his way.What a classy send off for @TSNBobMcKenzie by the TSN crew. Hard to not get a bit emotional while watching this. pic.twitter.com/2rrfIqcWQ2
The last trade ever to be broken by the legendary Bob McKenzie is Marner to Vegas.McKenzie is the best to ever do it. https://t.co/LhLr21OBZc
The tribute to Bob McKenzie at the head of Free Agent Frenzy was wonderfully and emotionally done. No one has done more for hockey coverage - across so many venues in so many ways - than Bob. All the best in retirement, legend.
'All I wanted to be was a hockey writer'When @TheHockeyNews brought me on board as a freelancer, the mere fact I was writing for a magazine Bob McKenzie essentially ran once upon a time was an honour. Bob set a ton of standards. All the best in retirement, @TSNBobMcKenzie https://t.co/RiGl9KqKaV
When you see Bob McKenzie's career laid out, it's stunning. He's seen the sport grow from 18 teams to 32, representing the game perfectly as a reporter, documenting the world of hockey better than anyone before, & very possibly anyone after. To a happy retirement, @TSNBobMcKenzie
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