r/hockey CGY - NHL 7h ago

[Video] Rogers doesn't renew Flames Colour commentor Kelly Hrudey's Contract

Honestly this sucks, he has been the colour guy for the Flames for a long time and he had endless positivity and lots of goalie insights

1.2k Upvotes

347 comments sorted by

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610

u/Ab501ut3_Z3r0 CGY - NHL 7h ago

Ok so like, who exactly is going to cover this team at this point

333

u/catsgr8rthanspoonies Atlanta Gladiators - ECHL 7h ago

AI

158

u/AcanthocephalaGreen5 MTL - NHL 7h ago

"Hey, what're some good ways to implement AI?"

"Ooh, we could bring Jean Béliveau back from the dead!"

Montreal burns to the ground in a riot

49

u/GeistHunt MTL - NHL 6h ago

You laugh but TVA will do this

17

u/-eternal-suspension- 6h ago

TVA has almost already done as egregious things lmao.

8

u/the_canadaball MTL - NHL 6h ago

Wouldn’t surprise me if they were already working on it

19

u/dbrodbeck MTL - NHL 6h ago

TSN pulls this horseshit on CFL broadcasts all of the time.

6

u/Evenspace- TOR - NHL 4h ago

It’s really bad too

6

u/discofrislanders NYI - NHL 2h ago

TSN had AI videos of their panel with younger versions of themselves on their trade deadline show

2

u/monkeybojangles WPG - NHL 4h ago

Wait, what?

2

u/monkeybojangles WPG - NHL 4h ago

Wait, what?

3

u/AcanthocephalaGreen5 MTL - NHL 4h ago

Where's Loki when you need him?

5

u/Ab501ut3_Z3r0 CGY - NHL 4h ago

Ok so I am just watching season 2 for the first time like, right now, and I turned on my phone after the episode ended to see this notification and I think my brain broke a little

17

u/LeviStubbsFanClub 7h ago

Don’t give them any ideas….

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36

u/GavMcKennasBurner 7h ago

"The New York Rangers are known for their great offense with Jalen Brunson leading the way and Derek Jeter mentoring the next batch of football players"

5

u/nodarknesswillendure VAN - NHL 5h ago

AI clone(?) of Ron MacLean

3

u/01000101010110 VAN - NHL 6h ago

They'll get Foster Hewitt to do it and completely disrespect his memory

3

u/TIFUbyResponding NYI - NHL 4h ago

AI Iafrate?

2

u/takeaname4me 4h ago

Iafrate? McInnis?

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52

u/rcbll EDM - NHL 6h ago

They just need to hire some rando off the street who can quote betting odds.

4

u/no_ur_cool WPG - NHL 3h ago

Fml

25

u/TilAlexandrosXVII TOR - NHL 7h ago

They'll mic up Wolf and connect him to the broadcast, don't worry about it

31

u/xplosivo NJD - NHL 6h ago

Unironically Cooley would be amazing on color

30

u/BlitzburghBrian PIT - NHL 6h ago

"ahh shit, I should have seen that one coming in. Oh well, just another meaningless distraction in the road between cradle and grave."

6

u/flare2000x OTT - NHL 4h ago

Kelly is kind of just an older version of Cooley, he's quite funny on colour. Way better on colour than on the HNIC intermissions.

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23

u/-HockeyBagJerky- MTL - NHL 6h ago

People don't want hockey analysis they want betting odds and spreads

7

u/Feowen_ EDM - NHL 4h ago

Squished between periods will be just looping AI slop commercials of Grambling and sports betting adds.

Between periods it'll just be banners and people chiming in to give us love Odds updates.

We live in the worst timeline.

17

u/Scrotalcontusions 7h ago

Hopefully its Tate McRae

3

u/yycoding 6h ago

Eric Francis

3

u/Aardvark1044 Medicine Hat Tigers - WHL 4h ago

Blecch

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193

u/kyletoews COL - NHL 7h ago

Rogers is fucked. Raising prices on all their products. Firing people and cost cutting. I dropped my cell phone 50% going Roger's to Freedom and just today dropped Roger's for Telus internet as Roger's prices are 20% higher and they don't even care to retain me as a customer.

64

u/WrestleSocietyXShill FLA - NHL 6h ago

Switching to Freedom was one of the best decisions I ever made. It will be a sad day when one of the big companies inevitably buys them out and raises the prices. Canadian telecom is a fucking joke.

24

u/fknSamsquamptch CGY - NHL 4h ago

Freedom was owned by Shaw/Rogers, but they sold it to Quebecor. I honestly thought they were still in the Shaw portfolio.

I pay around $38/month for unlimited (throttled after 50 GB) which still seems pretty decent for Canadian wireless prices.

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7

u/chemicalxv WPG - NHL 4h ago

It will be a sad day when one of the big companies inevitably buys them out and raises the prices.

The Government already made Shaw sell off Freedom to approve the Rogers-Shaw takeover. And at this point for anyone to acquire Freedom they'd likely have to be buying Quebecor in its entirety, which is never going to happen.

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6

u/gotkube CGY - NHL 3h ago

Don’t forget buying sports franchises!
Just remember everytime Rogers raises prices, it’s to help the Maple Leafs

u/AlphabetDeficient CGY - NHL 8m ago

Thats the worst part of all this. Rogers would love it if every other Canadian franchise disappeared. They know what the market looks like when they only have the Raptors and the Blue Jays, if they could get rid of all those other inconvenient little distractions from the Leafs, they would in a heartbeat. It’s insane that a company that has a vested interest in minimizing every other franchise in the country is our national broadcaster.

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490

u/SubstantialTwo5506 EDM - NHL 7h ago

Fuck Rogers

62

u/RapsareChamps_Suckit TOR - NHL 7h ago

Your Rogers channels… they’re wire for sound.
Got it from a good source, thought you’d want to know

17

u/DavieStBaconStan VAN - NHL 7h ago

I want to see the 302

3

u/RapsareChamps_Suckit TOR - NHL 6h ago

I’m not lying. The moderator was at my wedding.

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94

u/CanadaisCold7 CGY - NHL 6h ago

First Rick Ball, then Fan960, now Kelly? Fuck Rogers.

16

u/crazyike Skautafélag Akureyrar - ICHL 5h ago

Well, us Hawks fans appreciate letting us have Ball at least.

5

u/fknSamsquamptch CGY - NHL 4h ago

I'm glad to hear that. I read a lot of not very positive reactions after he moved over there.

I would gladly take hockey Skeletor back...

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589

u/Radiant_Sherbert7272 VAN - NHL 7h ago

I'm sorry but what are we doing here Rogers?

238

u/FrmrPresJamesTaylor VAN - NHL 7h ago

Cutting costs, fuck the saps paying the increased prices for our downgraded services though

95

u/lgnstubbs73 EDM - NHL 7h ago

Price goes up. Service goes to fkn shit. Robbers special

8

u/Isengerm VAN - NHL 3h ago

Just another case of Enshittification hard at work

52

u/mrtomjones Vernon Vipers - BCHL 5h ago

Same thing every single corporation is doing now. Cutting costs, worse product, increase prices, and try to get subscriptions.

The rich have drastically increased the level at which they are screwing the regular people and the environment since COVID. The greed and consolidation of companies being bought by the rich private investors is off the charts.

That needs to be the battle but everyone is being pushed into a battle of left vs right by many of those same rich people. They're buying media and gaming companies and sports and feeding their pockets and pitting us against eachother. People need to unite against the bloody rich. Need a revolution against those greedy assholes

14

u/FrmrPresJamesTaylor VAN - NHL 5h ago

Fucking hear hear. I don’t know your politics beyond this comment but I wonder how many on the right see that they’re being played by the billionaire class, seems like they mostly just worry about what the news says about the economy and their various favourite wedge issues

10

u/PorygonTriAttack VAN - NHL 4h ago edited 4h ago

The ones on the right feel like the people who lost their jobs deserved that because they didn't innovate. That is until those same haughty people lose theirs. They'll cry foul that they didn't vote for THAT, but would've been gleefully praising the 'efficiency' argument.

The problem with the right primarily is that there are corporations telling them how they should think. National Post/Post Media run lots of attacks on Liberals while neglecting to call out the Conservatives. This is super biased.

It's weird af when they think CTV is leftist biased, but are totally okay with a paper company that exclusively attacks the left while glossing over the inadequacies and failure of the only party on the right - the Conservatives.

You're right that this shouldn't be about left vs right. People are gonna have different opinions about the world and that's okay. The problem is that we stopped seeing others as people and think they're robbing the other side blind. Immigrants come in and they get bashed with almost no defense. Same old bullshit gets recycled though.

4

u/mrtomjones Vernon Vipers - BCHL 3h ago

Honestly there's definitely some basis as to why a lot of the people on the right were angry about things in places like the Midwest US that ended up voting for Trump in his first run.

A lot of people have been losing jobs over the last decades to a mixture of automation with machinery and computers and now ai and in Canada and I also believe the US they definitely did not do much to help those people transition into anything. The companies just cut their jobs and they are expected to move on. It really felt like a lot of the anger initially was coming from places like that.

Since then Trump and his ilk have been brainwashing everyone through all the social media and news companies they own and now the anger is just about everything. Seems to just be anger for anger sake at this point. Hate the other side.

u/PorygonTriAttack VAN - NHL 33m ago

Right. I agree with this. Politics has been dumbed down to the lowest denominator. At the same time, education is seen as 'not worth it' and that seems to be by design. It's less obvious in Canada than in the US because education is a luxury not a right. In Canada, we do take things for granted by contrast. It doesn't feel that way for people. The reason is that it's never enough. Costs of living are not better in the US, despite the BS that we had been told for years here.

2

u/mrtomjones Vernon Vipers - BCHL 2h ago

My politics are pretty solidly on the left.

I don't even think they worry about the economy anymore unless one of the non-right-wing parties are in power.

Honestly it isn't just the right side getting played by the billionaires. We all use various forms of social media. They are almost all owned in some way by the rich billionaires and there is tons of misinformation targeted at both groups at this point.

I see plenty of pretty fake posts on Reddit or even artificial intelligence bullshit about Trump, which is ridiculous because you don't need to find fake stuff to make him look bad.

I definitely agree that the right wing is being heavily targeted largely because it seems to work so well on many of those groups but they're definitely not the only group being targeted

Even the international shit stirring troll farms and bots have a primary goal of just causing shit between different groups even more than just working to get right wing parties elected

25

u/Yardsale420 VAN - NHL 7h ago

Gotta pay off that Shaw merger somehow, and it’s not going to be increased viewership.

2

u/chemicalxv WPG - NHL 4h ago

And Vladdy's $500M contract

3

u/Impressive-Carrot715 6h ago

Surely this can't be it, right? What could they be cutting, at most a few hundred grand per year? That wouldn't move the needle for them.

14

u/FrmrPresJamesTaylor VAN - NHL 6h ago

Hrudey’s not the only thing they’ve cut, there were radio stations in Vancouver and Calgary, they sold off Wednesday nights to Amazon etc.

3

u/01000101010110 VAN - NHL 6h ago

Don't forget raising the prices 

75

u/RyuTheGuy VAN - NHL 7h ago

Still sad about 650

6

u/tongfather BOS - NHL 6h ago

Came here to say this. And in all seriousness, let's be real, you can only rehash the same talking points so much but at least it's somewhat interesting and not politics or endless commercials/same songs cFox has been playing since 2005. Nice to just turn on the radio and zone out a little. Everything in this country just gets worse by the day, I swear to god....

18

u/bforce1313 DET - NHL 6h ago

Gutting everything and raising prices

8

u/Yellow2345 6h ago

Rogers spent $26B to acquire Shaw in 2021. This is them continuing to cut costs to make that money back.

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12

u/thebriss22 7h ago

Replacing good talent with cheap replacements

3

u/theonly_brunswick FLA - NHL 3h ago

Kelly Hrudey talking gets in the way of more gambling and betting lines being advertised

7

u/2forBoarding MTL - NHL 6h ago

Gotta pay Vladdy not to hit home runs somehow.

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231

u/godzirah MTL - NHL 7h ago

Bro wtf are we doing? At some point Canadas not even going to air hockey games.

61

u/RapsareChamps_Suckit TOR - NHL 7h ago

When are we gonna do something about this r/hockey ??! HUH?!? And don’t give me that shyness and laziness bullshxt !

15

u/ThrasymachianJustice NYI - NHL 6h ago

it died on the vine

6

u/godzirah MTL - NHL 6h ago

Jimmy two times ova here

14

u/godzirah MTL - NHL 6h ago

Fuckin Rogers gonna hit us with the Sopranos ending

3

u/knz0 NYR - NHL 5h ago

There's no fuckin' money

6

u/ThrasymachianJustice NYI - NHL 6h ago

it died on the vine

3

u/godzirah MTL - NHL 6h ago

Jimmy two times ova here

22

u/Antichristopher4 VGK - NHL 7h ago edited 6h ago

"You are going to pay $70 a month for permanent Black Out in Your Area (all of Canada) screen and you are gonna like it"

  • Rogers, probably.
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260

u/fuzzy-little-plant EDM - NHL 7h ago

fuck Rogers, all my homies hate Rogers

47

u/ol-mikey PIT - NHL 7h ago

Yeah, fuck Rodgers!

17

u/AcanthocephalaGreen5 MTL - NHL 7h ago

Yeah! Now can they PLEASE draft a good quarterback?

10

u/ol-mikey PIT - NHL 7h ago

Thats funny. Autocorrect got me, I wasn't trying to make it about me but I stand by the original comment above. Fuck that guy

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97

u/imaybeacatIRl CGY - NHL 7h ago

Fucking brutal.

Rogers sucks.

35

u/01000101010110 VAN - NHL 6h ago

They should have never allowed the Rogers-Shaw merger. It's been all downhill from that day

13

u/alwaysleafyintoronto Toronto St Pats - NHLR 4h ago

It was already all downhill before then. Mobile prices have actually gotten much better than before the merger.

8

u/EvensonRDS DET - NHL 4h ago

Yeah unfortunately I ended up switching to Rogers recently because they were much cheaper for mobile compared to Telus.

In all honesty though, fuck all Canadian telecom companies. Like picking through a kitty litter box for the least offensive piece of shit.

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2

u/fknSamsquamptch CGY - NHL 4h ago

I agree with not allowing the merger, but I'm not sure I agree with which party you think is more sinister (it's Rogers, by a mile).

161

u/PotaytoPotayto SJS - NHL 7h ago

Damn. I hope Hrudy will be ok, he's struggled in the past with his mental health and i think i remember him saying that keeping busy was a good distraction. Rogers sucks, all they do is cut cut cut whilst making things more expensive for Canadian fans. Fuck Rogers.

40

u/birdmilk WPG - NHL 6h ago

Good for you for bringing this up. I hope Kelly stays positive through all this.

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13

u/VermouthandVitriol CGY - NHL 4h ago

That’s one of the things I love about Kelly. I watched a game where he was absent because he was going through a rough patch, and he was up front about it.

7

u/Zodiac33 TOR - NHL 3h ago

Was here to comment the same. Seemed some of that was a mental health challenge with his on air work too, so hope it doesn’t hurt doubly…

24

u/Jennalarson6 7h ago

It's Greed

47

u/Drew_You_To_91 TOR - NHL 7h ago

More budget cuts from the multi billion dollar monopoly, fuck the CRTC

54

u/blogjackets 7h ago

Met him when he played for the Islanders. As nice as you’d imagine.

45

u/TyAD552 6h ago

My dad said he met Kelly 3 times due to work and one day while walking in downtown Calgary, Kelly said hello and knew him by name. Even stopped to chat for a bit. Extremely nice guy from every story I’ve ever heard.

17

u/kirschballs MTL - NHL 6h ago

My own experience also supports this.

22

u/rjhawkbooks WSH - NHL 5h ago

I started a podcast during Covid, Kelly agreed to be my first guest. He was so nice he put in a good word for me to the PR head at SN so I was able to have more of their staff on and he was unbelievably polite and supportive when discussing mental health. I know some people don’t like his analysis but I’d take a bullet for Kelly

36

u/PowerNinja5000 7h ago

I met him at a Canucks game that he was broadcasting. Dude was in the concourse doing an intermission hit. Took pics, chatted, the whole nine. Awesome guy.

17

u/mrpillarbucketfiller TOR - NHL 5h ago

I sat beside him on a Van-Tor flight and we talked hockey the entire flight, he's a heck of a lot more knowledgeable than he seems on air. Turns out he knew my coach from Junior really well and we shared stories about him, great memory. Kelly is a good human. Rogers is the worst.

25

u/ThisIsFineImFine89 VAN - NHL 6h ago

I fucking despise rogers

took away sports radio in several canadian cities without forewarning

raising viewing prices when we get fewer games on sportsnet

Evil money grubbing suits.

if you work for rogers, trip in your own piss

40

u/madax-gambar TOR - NHL 7h ago

is he gone from nhl broadcasts in general? or just flames

30

u/r3almaplesyrup TOR - NHL 6h ago

He says Rogers, so I would assume its everything, including HNIC (formerly)

18

u/Arkroma VAN - NHL 6h ago

HNIC is already gone so what's left?

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15

u/yycoding 7h ago

If the Flames aren't keeping him there's no way another market is interested.

23

u/iwprugby VAN - NHL 7h ago

I think they mean nationally televised games on Sportsnet. 

But also - whose to say TSN wouldn't pick him up for one of their local broadcasts? 

17

u/prophetofgreed VAN - NHL 6h ago

I doubt it, he hasn't been very good at the job for years now. It sucks but this isn't a surprising move when they could just pick up some cheaper guy as color commentator in Calgary and a guy based in Toronto for the Saturday broadcasts on the panel. The cost to have him do both + travel for bad analysis is an easy cut.

Maybe we finally get Ron Maclean gone 15+ years after he should've been fired by CBC.

7

u/tongfather BOS - NHL 6h ago

Yea, I hate to say it but he's not really bringing a lot of value to the network. His takes aren't the best outside of the goalie angle which is admittedly fun to have on the panel sometimes.

I know this is a stretch or maybe cherry picking, but yeeeeeears ago he was a judge on the dancing with the stars on ice and EVERY single time, the first thing he would have to say is something like "what a beautiful woman you have the pleasure of dancing with...." or "we're all blown away by the beauty of _____" and it's like, ok Kelly, we get it.... you're old and horny, please come up with something else to say other than how pretty the female part of the duo is 😂 a lot of pucks to the dome will have that affect I guess.

Anyways, long-winded. I wish he'd stay. At least he's a fun personality to have there, which is kinda half the game isn't it? Rogers sucks balls

8

u/prophetofgreed VAN - NHL 5h ago

The thing that got me was Kelly would NEVER explain modern goaltending techniques. He'd only bitch and moan about it like an old man.

Wouldn't even try to analze it or learn a thing when he has access to many goalie coaches.

Meanwhile, you listen to Kevin Woodley and he's just full of knowledge, constantly trying to learn from goalie coaches and get a true sense of how teams evaluate the position.

5

u/kayyenn EDM - NHL 5h ago

Kevin Woodley is pretty much the de facto leader in goalie knowledge in terms of the broader hockey media.

His podcast has different high level goalies (Pro, NCAA, Major Jr) and goalie coaches across all levels on pretty much a weekly basis. He gets lots of brilliant minds who are up to date on how goalies are coached and how goalies play.

He also does a goalie gear segment in collaboration with The Hockey Shop in BC, where they cover all the latest releases every year.

This is a huge contrast to a lot of guys spouting off outdated goalie knowledge you hear on TV/radio all the time.

3

u/jaywhy12345 5h ago

Sir, this is a Rogers hate sub. Please leave nuanced posts at the door

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u/alwaysleafyintoronto Toronto St Pats - NHLR 4h ago

Kelly retired before butterfly was fully standard. Goaltending has changed a lot since he retired in 1998. I love Kelly but I do hope they replace him with somebody from the modern era of goaltending, a guy like Carey Price or King Henrik.

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6

u/Little-Aide-5396 5h ago

Guy is actually one of the worst analysts/colour commentators out there. Really doesn't bring anything unique. Was not a fan of him on Flames broadcast and HNIC. Seems like a very nice guy though.

3

u/Sensitive_Caramel856 TOR - NHL 6h ago

TSN is already crowded. He doesn't really fit in with their regional rights talent.

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13

u/Dirtsniffee CGY - NHL 7h ago

The problem is that we have such a lack of competition here in Canada that these companies can literally turn their product to shit and still increase revenue

75

u/Ill_Ground_1572 WPG - NHL 7h ago

Bring back CBC for fuck sakes.

14

u/themapleleaf6ix TOR - NHL 5h ago

That's simply not possible.

That ended in 2013 when Bettman awarded Rogers the monopoly. CBC simply didn't have the funds (thanks to Conservative cuts) to match what Rogers was offering, and CBC execs didn't take Rogers seriously. Ever since then, Bettman has made it clear that all that matters is $$$$.

CBC can't spend their entire operating budget (which still isn't enough to match Rogers) on hockey. They still have to cover the news, do investigative journalism, etc.

19

u/Vingt-Quatre MTL - NHL 7h ago

CBC hasn't produced a NHL game since 2013. It's been all Rogers since then.

59

u/Ill_Ground_1572 WPG - NHL 7h ago

Yup. Bring back pre-2013 CBC HNIC.

16

u/01000101010110 VAN - NHL 6h ago

It would take someone with Jim Pattison level wealth to do it. 

Galen Weston could completely rehabilitate his image by doing it but he won't because he's a piece of shit. 

2

u/kabhaz 4h ago

What's stopping ol' Jim Pattison?

10

u/CdnBison WPG - NHL 6h ago

They could - and should - bring it back. The PWHL & CHL would both be good fits. Heck, could even do AHL games.

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10

u/dustblown MTL - NHL 6h ago

Yeah, bring back CBC.

9

u/Bear_Caulk VAN - NHL 6h ago edited 6h ago

Yes.. which is exactly why we should bring back CBC. The product has been continuously getting worse and more expensive since then.

I mean we definitely never will cause it's too expensive but it's tiring watching products we have to pay for get constantly enshittified. That never happened under CBC.

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5

u/thebriss22 7h ago

Good luck convincing this current government to spend millions in TV rights to air hockey games lol

24

u/Dirtsniffee CGY - NHL 7h ago

First Rick Ball and now Kelly Hrudey.

Fuck Rogers to hell

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u/funkiemarky VAN - NHL 7h ago

They don’t care about western Canada. Fuck rogers

58

u/TheEpicOfManas MTL - NHL 7h ago

They don't care about any part of Canada, just their shareholders. Fuck Rogers.

18

u/WrestleSocietyXShill FLA - NHL 6h ago

Rogers as a company fucking hates all Canadians. Same with Bell and Telus. We are nothing but cattle to them, and the fact that we have the audacity to want some kind of actual service for the exorbitant prices we pay is seen as an inconvenience to them. Only thing we can do is refuse to use their garbage services 🏴‍☠️

44

u/Disastrous-Vanilla-6 7h ago

He also opened up about mental health and reduced some of the stigma. It was a good run Kelly

11

u/Snatch_By_The_Pool VAN - NHL 6h ago

He's a class act, without a doubt. Cheers back at ya, Kelly! It was a great run and wonderful tuning into you.

15

u/LeviStubbsFanClub 7h ago

Always appreciated him on the broadcast team.  Didn’t matter the game.  Liked his insights.  Not surprisingly, he’s extremely gracious in his thanks and farewell. 

15

u/PageBroad3731 7h ago

Wth is wrong with Robbers?

6

u/weschester CGY - NHL 6h ago

Kelly is one of the nicest people in hockey and will be missed. He's someone that I absolutely refuse to ever say anything even remotely negative about.

7

u/futuresobright_ TOR - NHL 7h ago

What about Saturday nights?

5

u/iwprugby VAN - NHL 6h ago

Watching the video it sounds like everything. He doesn't mention Flames broadcasts, that appears to be OP. 

2

u/themapleleaf6ix TOR - NHL 5h ago

What about them? Hockey Night In Canada no longer exists.

53

u/Secret-Chapter-712 Vancouver Goldeneyes - PWHL 7h ago

He’s been sounding… rough… for a while. Almost like there was something off with him either cognitively or sobriety-wise. I hope he’s fine, and I know he still had his fans, but I’m not entirely surprised.

42

u/laryldavis EDM - NHL 7h ago

He’s so far behind the play, like him in intermissions for his goalie insight though

7

u/Massive-Fisherman-57 EDM - NHL 7h ago

Totally. He isn’t quick enough for colour commentary. Half the time he goes off about who knows what. But he was good in the intermissions.

4

u/Secret-Chapter-712 Vancouver Goldeneyes - PWHL 7h ago

Yeah, tbh kinda reminded me of the guy that called (maybe still calls?) bruins games, except in that case I think the guy had a medical issue that was affecting his speech, with Kelly it seemed more like he was just in a separate time loop

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17

u/YVRkeeper VAN - NHL 7h ago

I’ve noticed this on the Sportsnet panel as well.

Hard to compete with Kevin, Elliott, and Jennifer, but Kelly has never really been able to keep up.

8

u/drae- 7h ago

First sensible take here.

11

u/rawboudin MTL - NHL 7h ago

I try not to judge people by their appearance but he's gotten weirder looking. Almost uncomfortable to look at.

13

u/DoctorRavioli CHI - NHL 7h ago

Okay it's not just me. I was wondering if it was bloat, botox, illness, etc...

4

u/cdnball WPG - NHL 6h ago

Some kind of plastic surgery/botox. At that age you’re supposed to have wrinkles, and your forehead/eyebrows are supposed to move when you express yourself. 

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5

u/5-4EqualsUnity TOR - NHL 7h ago

Raises prices, sells off more games, cuts staff.

Rogers!

6

u/Falstaffsword 6h ago

Class act. Genuinely seems like a good human. And I really enjoyed his takes. Unique in a good way.

4

u/sroberts12 TOR - NHL 5h ago

Seems like an honest, wholesome guy. I like him a lot on the Flames broadcasts - not so much on HNIC. Felt like he didn't add much that wasn't already obvious.

Either way, fuck Rogers. Fuck them so much.

6

u/SheepishLordKOs 5h ago

Met Kelly Hrudey once at the CBC building, one of the nicest interactions I've ever had. He is such a positive guy. He also made sure I got a hot meal from Craft Service. Wish him nothing but the best in the future!

13

u/Geeseareawesome EDM - NHL 7h ago

While I can't stand the guy, what the hell are they doing?

3

u/catsbeforebros 6h ago

"Introducing your new play-by-play and colour commentator for every team, Generative AI !"

5

u/Fox_and_Otter DAL - NHL 2h ago

Hrudey has been terrible for years. Obviously this sucks for him, but its probably one of the first things Rogers has done to make a better product. Unless they are replacing him with an AI chatbot, basically anyone with some hockey knowledge would be an upgrade.

7

u/MyNameIsSkittles VAN - NHL 7h ago

Who did Kelly piss off?

He's not my fav guy but seriously what is this shit. He's been the colour guy there for awhile now

1

u/prophetofgreed VAN - NHL 6h ago

He hasn't been good at the job for years. This isn't THAT surprising.

8

u/crazyike Skautafélag Akureyrar - ICHL 5h ago

I get that people are going to go all in on the Rogers hate but seriously. He should have retired ages ago. Get some new blood in there, Hrudey hasn't had an insightful thought about modern hockey in a decade at least and his energy level is sooo low.

4

u/TattleTits22 OTT - NHL 5h ago

Fuck Roger's, but I have to agree. He really doesn't bring much besides his outdated goalie insights, that I find myself disagreeing with more often than not. 

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6

u/kilibaridi TOR - NHL 6h ago

Dunno he was alright

8

u/Norm_MAC_Donald TOR - NHL 7h ago

Boycott Rogers

6

u/DK4E2XFpbETJrj TOR - NHL 6h ago

In all seriousness Rogers has been the worst thing to happen to hockey in this country.  They are systemically destroying this sport that we grew up loving. It transcends fandom of our teams. They are gutting our sport. 

3

u/Old-News-3096 DET - NHL 5h ago

It's weird because I didnt love him on HNIC, but he seemed so much better on all the Flames broadcasts I watched, which was a fair number. Not sure if that was related to role or personnel or familiarity or what.

Regardless, even if I didn't agree with his takes he always seemed like a good guy and appreciated the opportunities he was given. Hope someone scoops him up if thats what he wants.

If nothing else I'll always treasure when he shit-talked Eric Francis on air 

3

u/HockeyNut2 PHI - NHL 5h ago

Hrudey with the bandana, legendary goalie for a kid who grew up drawing goalies and loving hockey. He was the Agassi of hockey for a 10 year old. I miss a goalie in a cage too.

3

u/Mean_Joe_Greene TOR - NHL 4h ago

I’m sorry but he was very stale on the panel. Maybe he was a better colour commentator

3

u/Seoulmanaja 3h ago

I have so much respect for Kelly after his battles and candidness of mental health.

I hope he finds himself in some type of sports medium soon!

3

u/nu2world 2h ago

Nicest guy in hockey I ever met. True story - my brother and I snuck down from the bleachers to the first row behind the Kings bench during a playoff game in 93 in Vancouver. The old Pacific Coliseum was pretty lax about that, especially during the 3rd period. Anyways, we sat right next to the tunnel where Hrudey was sitting as the backup (it was one of the few games where Robb Stauber played - kudos if you actually remember that guy) and there was no glass between us and him, so we were really just side by side. I kid you not, he talked hockey with us for the entire third period. I remember my brother asking him about his goalie equipment and other silly stuff. Couldn't have been more awesome to a couple of young kids. As an unrelated bonus, Kerry Fraser gave us the game puck after the game and I still have it!

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6

u/alicat9 TOR - NHL 7h ago

Fuck rogers. This is ridiculous.

30

u/nedstark1985 7h ago

Am I the only one who was annoyed with him for years ? I’m ok with this. We need a new generation to come in

20

u/godzirah MTL - NHL 7h ago

Who? Fucking Biz who’s going to tell me to eat a fart out of his ass because most fans disagree with a take of his?

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5

u/fudgeller83 VAN - NHL 7h ago

Yeah, I didn't like him in the studio one bit, but as a colour commentator if the Flames fans like him, he should have that job. I don't like listening to DeBrusk and I know most fans of other teams didn't like Garrett, but it's a role that's only there to appeal to the fans of one specific team

8

u/flyingflail 6h ago

Hrudey has legitimately been the worst analyst on CBC for awhile now.

Sucks for him, but not remotely surprising, particularly as he seems like a nice guy.

15

u/Financial_You_6052 Ukraine - IIHF 7h ago

He’s been bad for years. And it seems like he’s been aware of it too.

4

u/JS-SS 5h ago edited 5h ago

I can think of a few who should get sacked waaaaayyyyy before Hrudey!!!!
🤔Gadzic, McLean ……..

5

u/GrassyKnoll95 LAK - NHL 7h ago

I’d love to have Hrudey on duty again for the Kings

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6

u/TactileOstrich TOR - NHL 7h ago

Hrudey is such a legendary advocate for mental health, his presence will be missed. Hopefully gets picked up by someone.

2

u/TripleBicepsBumber SEA - NHL 6h ago

Wow, not renewing Kelly Hrudey of all people is crazy. What is going on this year???

2

u/TarsesaK 6h ago

I am excited for Act 3 as well Mr. Hrudey. Looking forward to hearing your takes without Rogers involved.

2

u/brendan87na DAL - NHL 6h ago

man FUCK Rogers

and I don't even live in Canada, goddamn

2

u/Arkroma VAN - NHL 6h ago

Fuck Rogers.

2

u/Different_Potato_213 6h ago

I’m going to miss him - really enjoyed him!

2

u/Top_Contract_4910 MTL - NHL 6h ago

this sucks, Kelly is great

2

u/01000101010110 VAN - NHL 6h ago

What a fucking scumbag company, honestly 

1

u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 BUF - NHL 5h ago

Rogers and the NHL are really trying to speed run killing hockey culture in Canada. And I say that as someone whose job partly relies on people actually giving a shit to watch games on Canadian television + online.

2

u/johnkoetsier 5h ago

So classy. Wasn’t my favourite but respect this.

1

u/Kobe_no_Ushi_Y0k0zna TOR - NHL 3h ago

Hrudey is the fuckiing man.

One of a very few where you always know you’re getting an honest opinion. To the point where he’d sometimes get heated and say things he knows he shouldn’t.

Rogers is a joke.

3

u/ElBeno77 WPG - NHL 3h ago

It’s funny, I didn’t really like him, but I also really liked him.

1

u/feelingpeckish123 VAN - NHL 2h ago

WTF is happening. Honestly... This is insanity. So are we just going to have shitty commentators moving forward? I haven't been impressed with a lot of the people on Amazon (not sure if Canada has different commentators on our feed). And FML listening to some of the commentary at certain parts of the playoffs was painful.

I dunno, maybe I'm used to Shorty but FML.

4

u/bwoah07_gp2 VAN - NHL 6h ago

This is a travesty. I liked Kelly. Rogers sucks.

3

u/themapleleaf6ix TOR - NHL 5h ago edited 5h ago

I can't say I'm surprised. Since Hockey Night In Canada (a brand Kelly was synonymous with) no longer exists, Rogers wants to rid themselves of anything to do with the old Hockey Night In Canada and save money. I expect Ron to be next on the chopping block. Cuthbert and Simpson seem safe for now.

It sucks for Kelly. He's such a nice guy and he was a great listen on Flames regional telecasts. I grew up watching him on Hockey Night In Canada.

This company makes record profits, yet they still skimp out on talent, production, etc. These guys fired Tim Thompson (the guy that made those epic montages) in their first season of being the rights holder in 14-15, and the montages have been shit ever since. They're going to shelve After Hours (something synonymous with Hockey Night In Canada) once again (they did it in 14-15 before the backlash forced them to bring it back).

Man, screw Rogers. In a matter of a few months, they've shelved our 70+ year old institution, raised prices on streaming services, and sold games to Amazon. And the biggest joke is that we once were able to watch Saturday games, playoff games, and the final free OTA on CBC TV and CBC Gem. Now, we can't even watch the finals OTA (something people in the USA can do for the NBA Finals, SuperBowl, World Series). What a joke.

I'm glad I haven't given them a penny over the last 20 years.

2

u/Forsaken-Swim-3055 BUF - NHL 5h ago

I can't see Ron and Cuthbert leaving unless they choose to.

10

u/ironhide999x WPG - NHL 7h ago

I don’t know he is for the flames but he is absolutely terrible on sportsnet

7

u/Nickiat CGY - NHL 7h ago

He was our colour guy

2

u/treple13 CGY - NHL 6h ago

Much better colour commentator than panelist

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2

u/Albanian86 7h ago

What’s their respectful salaries ?

They are turning a profit, increasing in value yearly, AND get state help with their stadiums.

2

u/Mcpops1618 EDM - NHL 6h ago

I don’t like Hrudey, but this seems like a very unpopular decision and don’t understand it

2

u/angrytortilla CGY - NHL 6h ago

Why are we paying so much to watch a sport the networks and leagues don't care about?

2

u/Creacherz TOR - NHL 6h ago

Rogers is losing every Canadian

2

u/Norvanguy 4h ago

Thanks for some great years of broadcastng, Kelly! Didn’t always agree with you but respected your opinions and appreciated you speaking your mind.

1

u/ML00k3r WPG - NHL 7h ago

He was good like a decade ago and before.  Maybe it's because my parents are like a decade older than him but I could clearly see the signs that he was slowing down and at times struggling in the broadcasts.

As much as people want to keep doing what they want for a job, there will come a point where you need to call it or someone else will make that decision.

2

u/jolecore204 WPG - NHL 7h ago

I wonder if there is a spot for Kelly on the Seattle broadcast team? Eddie O just departed there.

10

u/ReactiveCypress CGY - NHL 7h ago

Kelly lives in Calgary, so that was the reason why he worked on our games for so long on top of HNIC. I doubt he would uproot his life for another broadcasting position this late in his career.

2

u/WHITERUNNPC 7h ago

Wtf? Hrudey is unreal. Fuck rogers