There’s a report out there from Rick Carpiniello (The Athletic’s New York Rangers reporter) that would represent a massive change in the U.S. hockey broadcasting landscape, with Pierre McGuire off NBC’s top NHL broadcasting team and Brian Boucher (also a long-running NBC analyst) replacing him. McGuire will still reportedly be calling other games for NBC, though.
Here are Carpinello’s tweets:
Per impeccable source, Pierre McGuire has been removed from NBC Sports' No. 1 hockey team, to be replaced by Brian Boucher.
— Rick Carpiniello (@RickCarpiniello) September 4, 2019
Regarding the previous tweet, Pierre McGuire is still going to be doing games for NBC. But Brian Boucher will be on the No. 1 team with Doc Emrick and Eddie Olczyk
— Rick Carpiniello (@RickCarpiniello) September 4, 2019
Meanwhile, John Ourand of Sports Business Journal tweeted a statement from NBC that didn’t really confirm or deny this, only commenting on their opening-night alignment (which is Emrick/Olcyzk/Boucher, with McGuire on the late game):
NBC Sports: "Identical to last year, we will begin the season with Doc, Eddie and Brian working the early Wednesday Night Hockey game, with Pierre anchoring the late game of the doubleheader." https://t.co/GwTQRH0SOf
— John Ourand (@Ourand_Puck) September 4, 2019
So we’ll see if this move actually happens for the season, or if it’s just an opening night move. But if it is season-long, that will be notable one. The 58-year-old McGuire has been a key NBC figure for over a decade, first joining them in 2006 (in a part-time role while still at TSN) and heading to the network full-time in 2011, and he’s been on the lead broadcast team with Emrick and Olczyk all that time, serving as an “inside the glass” (on the bench) reporter/analyst.
But that hasn’t always gone well. While some viewers like McGuire, there’s been a lot of criticism of him dating back to his time with TSN (and with Montreal radio station CJAD before that), with much of that continuing through his run with NBC. Particular elements McGuire has taken criticism for include awkward conversations with fellow broadcasters and athletes, dubious non-reporting, patronizing remarks, and an inexplicable devotion to telling us where everyone played junior hockey.
Here are a selection of some (not all) of the McGuire highlights over the years:
- “You’re an announcer with a long stick from time to time” (to TSN’s Darren Dutchyshen on a 2008 Tradecentre broadcast)
- Montreal hockey fans are knowledgeable because they cheer when their team does well (on a March 2014 NBC broadcast)
- “I would love for someone to come up with an analytics number for grit, because grit matters.” (2014)
- Being avoided by the likes of Henrik Zetterberg and Phil Kessel (2013 and 2016 respectively)
- Asking Phil Kessel “How’s your breath?” (2016)
- Giving Matt Cullen a butt slap (2016)
- Mixing up who the Red Wings’ coach was (2016)
- “I’m going with my comrade Jeff O’Neill, and the biggest reason why is there’s so much to see. They couldn’t find a hockey stick big enough to protect the girth.” (2017, re: which TSN panelist should appear nude in the ESPN The Mag Body Issue)
- “You’re one of the 10 ladies that experienced the disappointment in Sochi. What’s going to be your message coming out here for the last 20 minutes?” (2018, complained about by NBC colleague Leslie Jones)
- “Tampa’s gonna be on your left, Pittsburgh’s gonna be on your right. What are you expecting out of this game? We’re paying you to be an analyst, not to be a fan tonight!” (to Olympic gold medalist and NBC analyst Kendall Coyne Schofield on a broadcast in 2019)
So, if this move does come to fruition and McGuire is used in a smaller role this year, that’s not exactly going to be met with a lot of disappointment from many hockey fans. Especially those who use the long-running #ShutUpPierre hashtag. But if this is just a one-night move, then those fans will have plenty of prominent McGuire commentary to listen to in the days ahead.
[Rick Carpiniello on Twitter]
