Longtime Bruins announcer Jack Edwards announced he plans to retire at the end of the season.
Edwards called Bruins hockey on NESN for 19 seasons and became a polarizing figure for his unusual references and heavily pro-home team calls. Before NESN he did both play-by-play and SportsCenter work on ESPN and ABC.
He was honored before the Bruins’ regular-season finale against Ottawa on Tuesday night. He’ll call games during Boston’s first-round playoff series before all games go to national broadcasts.
Edwards, 67, revealed earlier this year that he had an undiagnosed ailment that led to slurring and slowing of his speech despite the fact that he was still mentally sharp. He acknowledged that in his retirement statement issued by the Bruins.
“I grew up a Bruins fan, and who had more fun than us over the last two decades?” Edwards said. “In collaboration with Bruins and NESN leadership, I recently decided that the time has come for me to finish my shift as the voice of the Boston Bruins. I am no longer able to attain the standards I set for myself, to honor the fans, the players, the Bruins organization and NESN with the best they all deserve.”
“I retire from broadcasting not with a heavy heart, but gratefulness for a 19-year-long joyride,” Jack continued. “I owe my career, my own pursuit of happiness, to the love and support of my family. I thank every member of the Bruins and NESN for your loyalty, helping me to achieve and live out a lifetime goal, high above the ice.”
His announcement comes two days after the Celtics honored Mike Gorman before his last regular-season game and a day after longtime Yankees radio announcer John Sterling announced an abrupt retirement.
Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs thanked Edwards for his contributions.
“I join the Bruins organization, NESN and hockey fans everywhere in congratulating Jack on an incredible career,” Jacobs said. “Jack’s voice has been the soundtrack for generations of Bruins fans that have experienced so many incredible moments. His presence has been felt around the globe and he will forever be a part of the Bruins legacy.”
NESN President and CEO Sean McGrail did the same. His network plans a national search for Edwards’ replacement.
“Congratulations to Jack on a remarkable career of calling Boston Bruins hockey on NESN,” said McGrail. “Jack brought a distinctive and colorful personality to our broadcast that was unmistakably his own. I’d like to join everyone at NESN in thanking Jack for his contributions over the past 19 years.”
The Boston Bruins and NESN plan to further celebrate Edwards during the 2024-25 regular season.
SABRES: Buffalo fired Coach Don Granato, making him the seventh coach to be ousted during what’s grown into an NHL-record 13-season playoff drought.
The move was announced by the team a day after the Sabres closed their season with a 4-2 win at Tampa Bay. They finished with a 39-37-6 record and had been eliminated from playoff contention last week.
Granato completed his third full season in Buffalo after taking over on an interim basis in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2021 season after Ralph Krueger was fired. And the move comes with the 56-year-old Granato still having two seasons left on his contract, which featured an extension that kicked in to start next season.
He finishes with a record of 122-125-27 in Buffalo.
“I would like to thank Don for his time in Buffalo and commitment to the Sabres organization. He has been integral in the development of many of our players and has undoubtedly been the right coach to bring us to where we are now,” General Manager Kevyn Adams said in a statement posted on the team’s website. “But I felt it was necessary to move in a different direction at this point in time. My expectation is to be a consistent contender and unfortunately that goal has not been met.”
The team also announced the firing of assistant coach Jason Christie and video coordinator Matt Smith.
The Sabres stumbled through a season in which the team won three straight games just twice and were too often unable to overcome slow starts.
AVALANCHE: Captain Gabriel Landeskog attended team meetings and watched practice from the bench.
His coach, however, says he’s “not close” to becoming a participant.
The 31-year-old Landeskog had cartilage replacement surgery on his right knee last May and is missing a second straight season. The Avalanche have one more regular season contest – Thursday against Edmonton – before starting a first-round playoff series with Winnipeg.
ATTENDANCE: The NHL said it had set a single-season attendance record with more than 22.5 million fans filling arenas and stadiums.
The league said the new mark of 22,560,634 was set with 18 games remaining in the regular season, saying buildings so far have been filled 97% to capacity. The season ends Thursday and the playoffs begin Saturday.
The previous record was 22,436,532 in 2022-23. This is the third season with 32 teams.
Nearly 80,000 people watched the New York Rangers and Islanders play outdoors at MetLife Stadium in February, making it the most attended game in the NHL’s 106-year history.
The record also included the Winter Classic at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, the Heritage Classic at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Alberta, and Global Series games played at Avicii Arena in Stockholm.
This season is expected to produce record revenue of roughly $6.2 billion.
TUESDAY’S GAMES
BLUE JACKETS 6, HURRICANES 3: Zach Werenski had two goals and two assists, Jet Greaves made 38 saves and Columbus beat visiting Carolina.
The Hurricanes, who finished second in the Metropolitan Division, rested eight regulars in the meaningless regular-season finale.
CAPITALS 2, FLYERS 1: T.J. Oshie scored into an empty net in the rare situation of a team pulling its goaltender in a tie game, and visiting Washington is in the playoffs after beating Philadelphia.
Flyers Coach John Tortorella pulled goalie Samuel Ersson for an extra attacker because his team needed to win in regulation to keep its playoff hopes alive. The result allowed the Capitals to clinch a berth and eliminate the Pittsburgh Penguins — rivals for both teams finishing the regular season in Philadelphia — in improbable fashion with Oshie’s goal with exactly 3 minutes left.
RED WINGS 5, CANADIENS 4: Patrick Kane scored the shootout winner in a Detroit win over visiting Montreal in its regular-season finale, but the Red Wings were eliminated from playoff contention.
The Red Wings entered the night tied with Washington for the East’s second wild-card spot with 89 points. The Capitals, however, held the tiebreaker over Detroit with more regulations wins and clinched the final playoff spot with a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.
Detroit has missed the playoffs eight straight seasons.
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