When you go to watch an Edmonton Oilers game this season on TV, there will be a number of changes you’ll be noticing. First is that the Oilers, to fans in Alberta, won’t be on TSN anymore. As we all know, TSN lost it’s national feed rights, and now only covers select games in localized broadcasts.
Second, Sportsnet will be taking over the national feed, and third, the number of CBC Hockey Night games will start to decrease as the transition to fully Sportsnet begins to take place. The changing of the guard networks wise is a big change for everyone, but at least we’ll get to see the familiar faces of the Sportsnet guys, right?
Wrong.
A New Color:
Louie Debrusk, the fun loving and enthusiastic color-commentator for the Oiler broadcasts, will not be returning for the 2014-15 season. Jason Gregor first broke the news on Monday on OilersNation, and Jim Matheson ended up tweeting about it on Tuesday afternoon.
Some people weren’t fans of Louie, but I thought he was really good at breaking down the game, and thought he added something to the broadcast. Sure, he rarely said anything too harsh about the Oil, but for the most part he did a good job. It’s tough seeing someone lose their job, and I’m hoping he lands on his feet. Something tells me he will.
As for his replacement, again Gregor was on top of things, as he dropped the name of Drew Remenda, former color-analyst for the San Jose Sharks. Remenda was let go by Comcast Sportsnet Bay Area earlier this off-season. Matheson also mentioned that he would be surprised if Remenda wasn’t the guy.
As an Oilers fan in Boston, I have to watch games on Gamecenter live and Center Ice. Thanks to that, I get the chance to watch a few different feeds of games, and have plenty of times watched Sharks games and their feed. Remenda is an extremely smart analyst who brings an interesting take to the table. I’ve always enjoyed his take and am hoping the reports are true.
A New Voice?
Very well connected twitter personality RossCreekNation tweeted out the following on Monday following reports from Gregor about Remenda likely joining the broadcast team, hinting at more changes coming:
@RossCreekNation: I’m hearing there may be another change on Oilers Sportsnet broadcasts…
To me, I believe this could be a change in regards to play-by-play, which has been the role of Kevin Quinn for as long as I can remember. It would make sense to change the whole team if Sportsnet truly is looking to move their coverage to top-notch, nothing against Kevin, who personally I think does a very good job.
There are some solid candidates out there. I’m a big fan of Rick Ball, but he got the Flames’ TV gig. Mark Lee was recently let go by CBC, and served as a main voice for their Hockey Night coverage for years. I suspect he is a likely candidate for the job, although this is just pure speculation on my part.
My personal pick? Gary Thorne coming back to hockey is a pipe-dream, as he is comfortably working Baltimore Orioles games, but a man can hope. I wonder if Jack Michaels, a friend of The Oilers Rig, would consider a move to the TV booth. He did very well in a one game stint last year in December when Quinn fell ill.
What About Gene?:
Nothing on Gene, and fingers crossed he isn’t going anywhere. Gene is a great guy, and a fun person to interview too. Plus, he’s always good for a chuckle and I very much do enjoy his intros and in-game work. Personally, I doubt Gene goes anywhere, but who knows.
Steve Lansky, also known on twitter as @bigmouthsports, certainly didn’t calm the waters on Tuesday night in regards to changes with his tweet:
@bigmouthsports: Brace youselves, hockey fans. From what I’m hearing, this year’s
#Rogers TV coverage is going to be…well…different.#NHL#AllICanSay
There is no doubt that changes are coming to Sportsnet, who is looking to impress in their first year as the big dog in Canada. The changes on the Oiler broadcasts have already begun, and it doesn’t look like they are done. Is there anything regarding this organization that isn’t changing? Certainly doesn’t seem it…
It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the crew, and I’m sure we’ll hear about it soon enough.
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