News Article: Mike ‘Doc’ Emrick retiring from legendary NHL broadcasting career

[FireGerardGallant]

His call on the Stepan Ot goal is still legendary and prob one that will always be etched into my mind.

 

[kovazub94]

Well don't I feel sheepish. Now I'm wondering what Doc Gooden got his doctorate in.

Chemistry

 

[Peltz]

Well don't I feel sheepish. Now I'm wondering what Doc Gooden got his doctorate in.

Broadcasting of course.

 

[RagFinMet]

Being a huge hater of the devils i remember the first time i had to listen to him
I was shocked a guy with that voice could be an announcer
Then all the weird descriptions
How do u knife a puck??
I'll admit as I've grown i have grown to appreciate his work but I'll take Sam any day

 

[Irishguy42]

Albert/Burke/Forslund (in no particular order) were all better.

But 50 years in the game is nothing short of impressive.

Well deserved retirement, especially with the uncertainty heading into next season. No better time to do it than now.

 

[alkurtz]

When I first came of age as a hockey fan in the early to mid 1960s, there was very little hockey on television (only an occasional Rangers game on Saturday night from Montreal and Toronto that never turned out well) and radio. Believe it or not, only the last 10 minutes of periods one and two and all of period three were broadcast on radio. To get my hockey fix, I would hope that atmospheric conditions were right and I could pick up games (between the static) from Toronto and Montreal (I lived on the 4th floor of a five story walk-up apartment building in the Bronx). From Toronto, I would hear the great Foster Hewitt and from Montreal, the equally great Danny Gallivan.

I bet that Doc heard them also as he had a certain cadence to his announcing that always reminded me of these great Canadian broadcasters.

A great announcer. I will miss him calling the games.

Oh yeah, the radio announcer calling those truncated radio games was Marv Albert. I believe the TV guy was Winn Elliot.

 

[NYR]

Helter Skelter!
I for one am going to miss Doc calling the big games.
He has a way of adding excitement and making you jump out of your seat IMO

 

[SnowblindNYR]

I loved him, he's no Gary Thorne. He was unique, other than that guy whose name I forget from DC who tries really hard to be him and fails miserably at it (he's brutal).

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Best news of 2020 so far.

 

[ElLeetch]

Good. he has a voice made for print.

 

[Captain Monglobster]

I respect the man and he is a legend, but will always just be a Devils announcer for me. Hated that I had to hear him call Rangers playoff games.

 

[RangerBlues]

Anybody who throws shade on Doc Emrick is not a real hockey fan. Not another announcer even comes close.

 

[HockeyBasedNYC]

Doc is a fantastic announcer and likely will go down as one of the best to ever call NHL games, but honestly I watched all of the recent games he called on mute.

The last several years his voice went right through my head and was just too much for me. Ill admit that most of that stems from my hatred of the Devils but I’ve always respected greatness in the game of hockey no matter if it’s a rival or not.

Hes had some incredible moments and has called some games that I’ve truly enjoyed but I also must admit - and I hate to say this because the dude just wrapped a fantastic career - but I honestly think he turned some potential fans away from watching the sport because he is just really annoying if you aren’t a hockey fan and understand how Doc called a game.

 

[CasusBelli]

Sad day. He and Gary Thorne were my favorites.

 

[PuckLuck3043]

Anybody who throws shade on Doc Emrick is not a real hockey fan. Not another announcer even comes close.

I don't hate the guy but sometimes I find him annoying. I would take Sam Rosen and Gary Thorne over him any day.

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

I respect him even though he was always the voice of the enemy to me. Him, Jiggs McDonald, and Stan Fischler are the heels to me.

Great career and now the Rangers officially can begin their journey to Cup #5. There was no way the next "The Waiting Is Over..." moment was going to be cemented by Emrick.

 

[Rempe73]

I don’t get the hate. Maybe it’s because I was still a kid when he called Devils games. But still, he made hockey even more exciting than it already was. He was a big part of many of my favorite hockey-watching memories, from the Winter Classic to Black Friday hockey to the playoffs.

This day sucks.

 

[yada]

Anybody who throws shade on Doc Emrick is not a real hockey fan. Not another announcer even comes close.

There are no other annoucers i would rather hear less then mike emrick. I cant stand how he uses non hockey terms to describe things going on and i cant stand his voice. I have hated how he calls games since the first time i heard him was back on fox.

The only announcers i dislike anywhere close to emrick would be jack edwards, tyson nash (color guy, possibly ex color), florida play by play, bill lindsay (florida color guy, possibly ex color). I am unfamiliar with vegas, minnesota team

Thankfully the past 2 years I've been able to watch canadian coverage of the playoffs. Kenny albert, john forslund, chris cuthbert, joe beninati have all been better options for nbc. Now all thats left is to demote ed olyck off the #1 commentary team.

 

[pld459666]

Loved the way he called a game.

Never got the feeling he was biased for one team or another once he started calling games for NBC.

There was never an adjective he used that didn't make sense to me.

All of his descriptions were accurate.

Loved that he tried to make an early November game seems like game 7 of a Cup final.

He will be missed

 

[Synergy27]

Stick a “pitchfork” in him.

 

[motopanekeku]

Good man but he sucked as a play by play guy. He tried to manufacture every game into being exciting and didn't call them as they were. He would scream big drive when a guy shot the puck from 50 feet out making it seem like he was 10 feet out. He couldn't call the plays like they were. If it's a boring shot from way out call it like that.

"And Trouba takes a boring shot from the blueline!"

 

[NCRanger]

I loved him, he's no Gary Thorne. He was unique, other than that guy whose name I forget from DC who tries really hard to be him and fails miserably at it (he's brutal).

Joe Beninati. Who actually isn't terrible when not calling a Capitals game with Craig Laughlin. He's outstanding as a lacrosse play by play man.

Gary Thorne's voice is 1000 times better than Emrick's. Problem with Thorne is that he makes way too many errors and not just pronunciation. It's the making trades in the middle of the game and assigning teams to new cities that irk me.

Emrick reminds me of the kid in school who could rattle off statistics and understand coaching level strategy for at least six sports, but couldn't hit a softball past the pitcher.

 

[OrlandK]

Announcing is always a matter of taste to an extent. And clearly he didn't have an amazing voice. And he had a unique style with his phrasing that might not resonant with all. And apparently the fact that he announced for the enemy in the past annoys some, even if he was never a homer.

But no one ever made hockey more exciting. And no one ever captured the crazy "helter skelter" nature of sport as well as Emerick. No one was even close. The big games will never seem quite as big when he is not doing the play by play, as he has for so many decades.

 

[KirkAlbuquerque]

Being a huge hater of the devils i remember the first time i had to listen to him
I was shocked a guy with that voice could be an announcer
Then all the weird descriptions
How do u knife a puck??
I'll admit as I've grown i have grown to appreciate his work but I'll take Sam any day

The Devils seem to favor guys with screeching voices. Have you heard Cangialosi lately? Yeesh.

 

[Machinehead]

"And Trouba takes a boring shot from the blueline!"

To be fair, this actually happens sometimes.