Chris Kerber has been a staple on the St. Louis Blues broadcasts, serving as the radio play-by-play announcer for the better part of the past three decades. And on Saturday, he reclaimed his longstanding role after missing the team’s last two games to grieve the passing of his father, Lou Kerber.
On Tuesday, the organization announced in a post on X that Kerber would be missing their game against the Seattle Kraken. In his place, Joe Benson, the voice of the Kansas City Mavericks, the ECHL affiliate of the Seattle Kraken, served as the Blues radio play-by-play man.
If you’re listening to tonight’s game on @101espn, you’re hearing the voice of Joe Benson.
Joe has called @kc_mavericks games for each of the last two seasons and will be calling his first full NHL game tonight with @chriskerber out due to the passing of his father. #stlblues pic.twitter.com/apMmeLkTO5
— St. Louis Blues (@StLouisBlues) February 26, 2025
For Thursday’s game against the Washington Capitals, Blues fans were treated to former Carolina Hurricanes broadcaster Chuck Kaiton in Kerber’s absence. Kaiton, of course is the President of the NHL Broadcasters’ Association and has been since 1986.
Kerber did return for the team’s game on Saturday against the Los Angeles Kings, which was first reported by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Obviously, the death of a parent is tough on anyone. But at least Kerber did get to make the absolute most of his time with his father.
Following the St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup victory in 2019, Kerber was a special moment with his father, celebrating alongside him and giving him the opportunity to hold Stanley Cup, a moment that Kerber still thinks back fondly on to this day.
“We had an amazing couple hours,” Kerber told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch of his moment with his dad.
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.