Canucks icon Kevin Bieksa wins major television award

Kevin Bieksa might never have won any major awards in his time with the Vancouver Canucks, but the same can’t be said of his post-playing career.

On Tuesday, it was announced that Bieksa won the 2024 Canadian Screen Award for Best Sports Analyst, as selected by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Fittingly, Bieksa was on a broadcast when the news was announced, appearing on Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canada panel during Game 4 of the New York Rangers-Florida Panthers series.

Best Sports Analyst: Kevin Bieksa. 📺🏆

Congrats on the Canadian Screen Award, @kbieksa3! pic.twitter.com/KQeuLz03Iw

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 29, 2024

“Team award, obviously,” Bieksa said when presented with the news, although he admitted he had been given a bit of a heads-up.

“No, it’s not a team award!” co-host Ron MacLean retorted. “We don’t get to drink [in celebration] until after the intermission.”

Bieksa edged out Sportsnet colleague Jennifer Botterill, as well as Cheryl Pounder and Craig Button from TSN and Byron McDonald from CBC. Bieksa was also a nominee for Best Sports Analysis or Commentary at the ninth Canadian Screen Awards in 2021, after initially joining the Hockey Night in Canada crew in 2020.

Bieksa last played for Vancouver in 2014-15, having been a part of seven playoff runs with the team. He had 63 goals and 215 assists in 808 games across 13 seasons with the Canucks and Anaheim Ducks, last suiting up in the league in 2017-18.

He was known as a minute-munching defenceman, averaging over 20 minutes in nine of his 10 seasons while playing in BC. His most productive season came in 2011-12, where he put up eight goals and 36 assists in a year where the Canucks won the Presidents’ Trophy.

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