Is Jim Hughson parting ways with Hockey Night in Canada?
A familiar voice to hockey fans in this country might be gone from Hockey Night in Canada next season.
Popular sports media Twitter account @yyzsportsmedia, which is followed and trusted by many people in the industry, reported today that Jim Hughson won’t be calling games on Hockey Night in Canada next season.
Sources telling me that one change at @hockeynight this season will be that long time pbp announcer Jim Hughson will not be calling games this season. Not sure who will be doing the west coast games but sounds like it will not be Jim.
— jonah (@yyzsportsmedia) September 17, 2021
“We don’t have any news to share at this time,” a Sportsnet spokesperson told Daily Hive, when asked about Hughson’s future with the company. Daily Hive attempted to contact Hughson directly, but did not receive a response.
Hughson joined Hockey Night in Canada in 2005 and took over from Bob Cole as the No. 1 play-by-play broadcaster in 2008. When Sportsnet took over production of Hockey Night in Canada in 2014, Hughson was retained, allowing him to call every Stanley Cup Final from 2009 until 2020. He was honoured by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2019, as the recipient of the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award.
The 64-year-old Fort St. John native had a reduced role last year, only calling games close to home in Vancouver, as he did not travel due to the pandemic. Hughson did not call any games in the 2021 playoffs, allowing Chris Cuthbert to call his first-ever Stanley Cup Final.
Sportsnet released its regional broadcast schedule today without mention of Hughson, though that’s not unusual given he’s typically reserved for national telecasts.
In addition to his work on national broadcasts, Cuthbert will be calling regional Toronto Maple Leafs games for Sportsnet next season, alongside game analyst Craig Simpson and rink-side reporter Shawn McKenzie.
Vancouver Canucks regional broadcasts will continue to be called on Sportsnet by play-by-play man John Shorthouse and colour analyst John Garrett, along with host Dan Murphy.
Calgary Flames regional games will feature the broadcast team of Rick Ball, Kelly Hrudey, Cassie Campbell-Pascall, and Ryan Leslie. Jack Michaels begins his second season as the Edmonton Oilers television voice, alongside Louie DeBrusk and Gene Principe.
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