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Hockey Night in Canada

G

GhostofPotvin29

New member
I've been thinking a lot about HNIC since the last game of the Final and I'm really feeling a sadness about it.  I understand it had its issues in terms of panel quality in recent years, but to me it was still the best Canadian broadcast to watch.  But beyond that, it holds such a gigantic place in my hockey-watching history - literally my entire life up to this point (and I'm sure it's the same for thousands of others).  When I think of being younger and watching Leafs games, it's CBC and HNIC I picture.  I could watch a CBC game almost anywhere I was as long as I had some rabbit-ear antenna.  I'm sure some found it nauseating, but I loved the way HNIC celebrated the smaller Canadian towns.

Basically I'll get over it but I'm really going to miss HNIC and it's given me a ton of great Leafs and hockey watching memories from throughout my life.  Saturday night HNIC was THE night for me growing up, and I'll miss that.
 
I'm with you -- HNiC defined my hockey watching over the years.  I, as with you, and many others, don't know anything else, so it's tough to imagine it no longer being around.

I'm holding out hope that Rogers maintains a good portion of what HNiC is as we know it, and leave it as its own institution.  But I won't hold my breath.
 
Deebo said:
Scott Oake and Elliotte Friedman have joined the Rogers NHL broadcast team.
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I imagine it's going to be mostly status quo for at least a couple of seasons, with the obvious exception of George Stroumboulopoulos coming in and there being more cross-promotion between the programs.
 
I agree that I have nostalgia for CBC broadcasts but, quite frankly, to me that nostalgia died because of the way the quality of the broadcast slipped way more than it will because of it changing homes. So long as they keep the guy who did the pre-game montages I wouldn't mind if the entirety of HNIC was rebooted.
 
Nik the Trik said:
So long as they keep the guy who did the pre-game montages I wouldn't mind if the entirety of HNIC was rebooted.
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I'm with you on that one!

I agree with Potvin also, it's what I grew up on, recent difficulties aside, I'll also hold nostalgia for Saturday night with Ron McLean and the CBC. I used to work in the bush, but we could always get the short straw to hold the antenna right where we wanted it for the game.
 
I learned to love hockey (and the Leafs) because the only station we could get came across the lake from TB and it was CBC. I lot of what I know about Canadian life and culture came from those broadcasts.

The quality in recent years can be debated but I still maintain that even at its worst HNIC was better than any American broadcast.

Like our PBS here in the states I think CBC is important for Canada. There is a place for cultural programming not driven solely by the market.
 
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Like our PBS here in the states I think CBC is important for Canada. There is a place for cultural programming not driven solely by the market.
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I think that's probably true but if you're going to have a public broadcaster involved in big league sports you can't half-rear end it when it comes to funding which is largely a non-starter politically. PBS does some great things but they're not broadcasting the NFL. To my knowledge the BBC doesn't broadcast the Premier League. It would be cool if CBC stayed in the hockey business to some extent, the CHL would be great if that could ever happen, but given the current media market the change was inevitable.

Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
The quality in recent years can be debated but I still maintain that even at its worst HNIC was better than any American broadcast.
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Personally, I'd take Emrick/Olczyk over Hughson/Simpson/Healy any day of the week.
 
Guess we all have our memories of HNIC.  There will always be a special nostalgia for those who appreciated what it meant as a hockey fan in Canada (and to an extent, the U.S. border states, for those able to catch a good dosage of shinny). 

For me, I'll always remember the voice of Dick Irvin when the HNIC broadcast would shift to show a Montreal Canadiens highlight during a break in the action of a Maple Leafs game.  This was way back during the mid '70's era, every Saturday night, "from Montreal"...we knew just what to expect with Guy Lafleur's blond mane flying as he "winds, he fires, he shoots, he scores!"...

Of course, that is just one memory, there are many others, but anyway, the idea is that whatever memories we've all had, they'll be with us forever as hockey fans.

Now, on to the new Rogers era.  Am looking forward to it and hope that it too will forge some nostalgia in the years to come when we look back.
 
Nik the Trik said:
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
Like our PBS here in the states I think CBC is important for Canada. There is a place for cultural programming not driven solely by the market.
Click to expand...

I think that's probably true but if you're going to have a public broadcaster involved in big league sports you can't half-rear end it when it comes to funding which is largely a non-starter politically. PBS does some great things but they're not broadcasting the NFL. To my knowledge the BBC doesn't broadcast the Premier League. It would be cool if CBC stayed in the hockey business to some extent, the CHL would be great if that could ever happen, but given the current media market the change was inevitable.

Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
The quality in recent years can be debated but I still maintain that even at its worst HNIC was better than any American broadcast.
Click to expand...

Personally, I'd take Emrick/Olczyk over Hughson/Simpson/Healy any day of the week.
Click to expand...

All true. CBCs model for HNIC was doomed sooner or later once the media landscape fragmented and Bettman big sized the league with commensurate tube contracts.

The CHL idea is a good one.
 
The only reason I'd tune in is to watch Don Cherry.  Otherwise, it's a waste of time.  Just check the scoreboard and replays on nhl.com.
 
BlueWhiteBlood said:
Zanzibar Buck-Buck McFate said:
The CHL idea is a good one.
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I agree and I think it would get far more viewership than one would think junior hockey might.
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Sportsnet re-upped their exclusive broadcast rights with the CHL earlier this year. They'll have them for another 10 years. That's a move that I found pretty surprising though. Sportsnet never really did that great of a job with the CHL (surprise, surprise). You'd think they'd have went over to TSN and gotten them to match whatever Rogers was offering.
 
CarltonTheBear said:
Sportsnet re-upped their exclusive broadcast rights with the CHL earlier this year. They'll have them for another 10 years. That's a move that I found pretty surprising though. Sportsnet never really did that great of a job with the CHL (surprise, surprise). You'd think they'd have went over to TSN and gotten them to match whatever Rogers was offering.
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With TSN and Rogers taking the lead with the NHL, maybe that's how the CBC could reinvent themselves, particularly having Don Cherry do more work, as I think he is still very up to date on the junior scene and would bring with him some viewers I would think (whether that is good or not).

EDIT: Rogers would still hold the rights, but they could maybe sub out some of the work and see where it goes.
 
Pretty much any games I get a chance to watch, I watch online. I'm currently trying to watch the Canucks/Oilers game on CBC and I'm getting all the background music with none of the content.

I see George S. leaning forward in that way he has of showing that he's engaged in the subject. Too bad I can't hear what he's saying. Makes me think there's something wrong with my computer. But no, here come the ads with full audio and video.

The CBC live stream has been since it began, the worst way to experience a hockey game that I've encountered in the digital age. And just when you think it couldn't get any worse...

But, I guess it's a low priority for them.
 
I didn't find the game coverage to be much different than what we've seen from HNiC in the past. Mind you, I didn't see the opening intro nor much of the intermissions.

One change seems to be that Coach's Corner has been cut down by a couple minutes.

They also were running the intermissions on a loop amongst the different channels.
 
Strombo, Healy and Cox tonight. Shudder.

As much as I've enjoyed his work, I'd rather Mclean just showed some pride and quit.
 
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