Sportsnet 650 radio host announces he's leaving during emotional on-air goodbye
It’s been over eight years since Sportsnet 650 entered Vancouver airwaves, and Dan Riccio has been there for the entire ride.
However, on Friday night, Riccio gave an emotional goodbye to the radio station that he had joined more than eight years ago.
The co-host of Sportsnet 650’s Canucks Central choked up while telling listeners on Friday that this would be his last appearance on the show.
“It’s one of the toughest decisions of my life,” Ricco said. “It’s tough to leave an incredible team here.”
Riccio cited family reasons as the rationale for his departure. He originally moved away from his home in Toronto to join the newly formed Sportsnet 650 back in 2017.
“God, this sucks!” Riccio said as he tried holding back emotions during his final goodbye.
“I knew this was going to be the hardest part. We’ve built something incredible here, and I’m gonna miss the community that we’ve built with this show.”
He worked at Sportsnet 590’s The Fan in Toronto for nearly four years before making the move to Vancouver.
“People told me that nobody would accept a Toronto guy here, and I feel like you guys did, so I’ll always love you for that,” Riccio said on air.
At Sportsnet 650, he hosted shows such as The People’s Show and Reach Deep before joining Canucks Central with Satiar Shah.
Riccio even subbed in for doing Canucks’ play-by-play on a couple of occasions, including one of the highest-scoring Canucks’ games of all-time.
He mentioned during his on-air goodbye that he has taken on another opportunity, which he will announce at a later date.
For now, however, his social media mentions were flooded with emotional goodbyes from former colleagues and fans.
Hell of a run, brother. I’m honoured to have been your colleague, cohost & friend since 2017. The chemistry started before we hit the air together on nights in Yaletown 😂 You taught me so much and made me a better broadcaster. Thank you 🙏🏽
— Randip Janda (@RandipJanda) November 22, 2025
There’s been no announcement yet on who will replace him on Canucks Central.