Good moves at Hockey Night in Canada
That was quite a favour the NHL players' association did for hockey fans. Following the recent palace coup that sent Paul Kelly to the unemployment line, Glenn Healy decided to clean out his desk at NHLPA headquarters.
That meant Healy was available to restart his broadcasting career and Hockey Night In Canada wasted no time grabbing him. It's a return home for Healy, who started at CBC and looked like he was being groomed for bigger things when he jumped to TSN. Apparently, CBC wanted him to work exclusively for them, though wasn't willing to pay exclusive wages.
Healy will Pierre McGuire the games -- analyze from between the benches -- and no doubt add much-needed life to the Hotstove show. Healy's a natural: witty, opinionated and entertaining. When Don Cherry finally hangs up his flowered jackets, don't be surprised to see Healy take his place, without the jackets and fight highlights.
CBC has made some good changes to Hockey Night In Canada. Kevin Weekes has been added as an analyst for western games. I have no idea what kind of analyst he is, but he certainly is one of the more articulate players in the game. The fact that he's not the usual -- white male -- is a good move.
The addition of Guy Carbonneau to work as an analyst on Montreal Canadiens games is interesting, considering the Habs' axe wounds are still visible on Carbonneau's back. Carbonneau could be good, assuming he's abandoned dreams of coaching again.
The problem with unemployed coaches and GMs is that they usually avoid anything controversial for fear of scuttling future employment prospects. That's the same challenge that faces TSN's new analyst, Craig MacTavish.
MORE CHANGES: Paul Graham, formerly of HNIC and Raptors' broadcasts, is the new head of live production at TSN. He replaces Jim Marshall. ... If you enjoy watching traffic accidents, you should tune in Monday night (11:30) for The Score's latest show. It's Drafted: The Search for Canada's Next Sportscaster. It's one of those reality things with contestants vying for a real broadcasting job. Interesting way of recruiting, no?
" Interesting way of recruiting, no?"
No. It's been done a million times. ESPN did this years ago. The Score, the forward-thinking sports network, goes back into the history books to dredge up this piece of flotsam.
Posted by: Tom Duke | 09/20/2009 at 02:49 PM
A Canadian network copying something that ESPN does??? You mean like TSN's ENTIRE appearance
Posted by: steve | 09/20/2009 at 10:19 PM
I'm not a fan of Pierre McGuire, but I do enjoy the possibilities of the view and insight that can be provided by the between the bench commentator. I think Mr. Healy will do an excellent job for the CBC in this regard. Great news for HNIC fans.
Posted by: Jamie | 09/25/2009 at 11:43 AM
"The fact that he's not the usual -- white male -- is a good move."
Making decisions based on the color of a persons skin is not a good practice. We've learned that lesson already haven't we? Kevin Weekes did a good job last night. He offered some great insight and was very well spoken. However the color of his skin should be irrelevant, and not taken into consideration when deciding whether or not he is a good fit for HNIC.
Posted by: David Jones | 09/27/2009 at 06:21 AM