Bring up the top player from the farm team, Marlies Play by play announcer Todd Crocker! He has more than earned his way to the big club.

torontostan wrote:

Nobody. Either a TV simulcast or no radio at all. This is the best moment for the team to send the money losing venture into the sunset 

How is it a money losing venture? 
The Toronto Maple Leafs are not a money-losing venture at all!
In fact, they are a financial powerhouse and consistently rank as one of the most profitable and valuable franchises in professional sports. 

Key Financial Facts:

• Most Valuable NHL Team: As of December 2025, Forbes named the Maple Leafs the NHL's most valuable team for the third consecutive year, with an estimated value of $4.4 billion.
• High Profitability: Despite limited recent playoff success, the team generates immense revenue through high ticket prices, merchandising, and corporate sponsorship, with Forbes estimating a league-high $127 million in operating income for the 2022-23 season.
• Ownership Stability: The team is owned by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE), which is heavily controlled by Rogers Communications and BCE Inc..
• "Recession-Proof": The fanbase is known for high engagement, with the team selling out games and maintaining high merchandise sales even during poor on-ice performance.

The money is there to do a proper radio broadcast win or lose. 
Unless, respectfully, the argument is that the advertisers are not willing to put their money into a radio broadcast anymore. 
I doubt that very much. 

Last edited by Radiowiz (April 18, 2026 3:16 pm)

RadioAaron wrote:

It has nothing to do with the profitability of the Leafs, as they're one of the remaining teams that's don't produce their own broadcasts. It's about the profitability of the radio stations, which, separated from their clusters, do not make money.

I think what you are trying to tell me is that Joe had a long term contract, which is now up, leaving the radio business in a situation where they can choose not to invest in a new announcer and just go with the TV feed. 
Mainly because things have changed since Mr. Bowen first signed his last contract. 

Perhaps all this depends on the difference between "Thin Margin" and actually operating at a loss...and how much of a loss?  

The NHL pre-season begins just over a month from now. (September 19th, with the Leafs taking on their archrivals, the Canadiens.) The actual season opens just ten days later. 

And still not a word on who is replacing Joe Bowen. You might think if such a person had been named, we'd know who it is by now and a bit of publicity about him would start to be doled out.

Instead, bupkis. 

As we get ever closer to the puck drop, I'm beginning to believe some of the predictions on this post from last April - take the TV feed and forget about hiring a replacement - may be exactly what's coming. From Foster Hewitt to Joe Bowen, is this truly the end of an era for hockey as we knew it on the radio? 

The infamous Jays TV audio experiment a few years back was met with backlash from listeners. Will they bother fighting this battle again if it comes to that? If the time honoured era of hockey on the radio by an actual radio voice is over, it's a sad day for the game and the medium. And I say that as a non-fan. 

Using the tv audio on radio would only work if the TV people know they are on the radio, if not if becomes hard to listen to.

I can see changes on the TV side. I think there will be 1 in studio team for all nights that Sportsnet does national games. Saturdays would no long be any different than Thursdays.
Also being Bell owns the original Hockey Night in Canada theme music. Will they use this on Crave for Monday night hockey?

RadioActive wrote:

Do the Leaf radio games still alternate with TSN1050? If they use the TV audio, I'm sure they'll be thrilled hearing "you're watching Leafs hockey on Sportsnet," during every throw to commercial break. Nothing like continuous references to the competition on your own radio station to set management's teeth on edge. 

They must still be alternating, going by the following excerpt from Kevin McGran's article in today's Star about Kelly Hrudey being let go.

Some fear the Leafs will simply simulcast the television broadcast on radio, with games divided by the Sportsnet The Fan 590 and TSN 1050. That could become problematic when games on radio do not line up with their TV counterpart. In other words, if TSN is carrying the game, Gord Miller’s voice would be heard on a Sportsnet radio station. Ditto Sportsnet’s Cuthbert being heard on TSN 1050.
 

RadioActive wrote:

Do the Leaf radio games still alternate with TSN1050? If they use the TV audio, I'm sure they'll be thrilled hearing "you're watching Leafs hockey on Sportsnet," during every throw to commercial break. Nothing like continuous references to the competition on your own radio station to set management's teeth on edge. 

Hear me out......TSN Radio airs the TSN TV games, and Sportsnet The Fan airs the Sportsnet games. Crazy idea, I know 

RadioActive wrote:

Unless there's no radio play-by-play guy. So audio from both networks is the plan on both stations? It's not really the same feeling unless you have one guy doing both. 

The "feeling" doesn't matter. Radio ratings don't matter. Radio is be a line-item in a much bigger sales package.

Having said, that, I don't think it'll happen this season. Too many left-over discrepancies between TV/Radio still in the books from the split MLSE ownership days. 

I am a csual sports fan.I watch the NFL because I run a small [50 entrants] pool. I watch the CFL  to watch the Argos win and the Tiger-Cats to lose. MLB and NHL have long seasons, so I only watch the occasional game until after each leagues All Star Break. When teams start jockeying for playoff positions, My viewing becomes more steady.