Hockey Night In Canada The Maple Leafs Story

Hockey Night in Canada has reached a great age (and for television, practically an immortal one) because it made itself into something that Canada couldn't live without. It is this surge of emotion that connected us all each week, and which connects us through the years to now. Hockey Night in Canada didn't just aim a camera at a game and observe what happened-it actively gave the country a prism through which it could see itself and its evolving diversity. We look where the eye of Hockey Night in Canada looks, and it looks at us. We remember what it remembers. We feel what it feels. That is the dynamic that has made the show much more than a long-lived TV success; it is a cultural juggernaut. Ask fans where they saw their first hockey game, and chances are it was on Hockey Night in Canada. Ask the players-male or female-what first got them into the rink, and the answer will be the same: they wanted to be like the players on Hockey Night in Canada.

Since its first radio broadcast in November 1931, Hockey Night in Canada has been a Canadian tradition. In The Boys of Saturday Night, author Scott Young, a veteran sportscaster and journalist, dives into the engaging history of Hockey Night in Canada as it has unfolded in the decades since hockey broadcasts began over eighty years ago. Young recounts memories and stories of those who made their names through Hockey Night in Canada, including Dave Hodge, Danny Gallivan, Scotty Bowman and, of course, Don Cherry, and reveals how Hockey Night transformed itself into a Canadian institution.

In late 2013, Canadians were intrigued to learn the NHL chose Rogers as its exclusive national broadcaster over both CBC and Rogers’s bitter rival, Bell Canada. The decision was met with equal parts fascination, shock and anger. When CBC rank-and-file employees came to believe their leaders missed a chance to hold on to at least a part of Hockey Night in Canada—a move that could have saved some of their jobs—their disappointment turned to outrage. This is also a story of great irony, as the win proved to be costly for the victor in the first years. When Rogers sealed the $5.2-billion, twelve-year deal, it looked like the audacious play might just pay off. The Toronto Maple Leafs, with the biggest fan base in the country, appeared ready to shake off years of mediocrity and become playoff contenders, drawing legions of fans to Rogers’s broadcasts in the process. In anticipation, Rogers gave Hockey Night in Canada a facelift, bringing in hip George Stroumboulopoulos to replace veteran host Ron MacLean. However, in January 2014, the Maple Leafs crashed hard and so did the ratings for Hockey Night in Canada. It was crushing news for Rogers, with cable-cutting already shaping into an existential threat. On top of everything, “Strombo” bombed as host and the network had to bring MacLean back. Then things got even worse—by the middle of the 2015–16 season, the rest of the seven Canadian NHL teams missed the playoffs and ratings fell further, chasing away even more advertising dollars. Simultaneously, viewing habits were changing so quickly no one could predict what would happen next year, let alone in the next decade. Shoalts covers this story from the beginning, and Hockey Fight in Canada details every fascinating play in this intersection of sports and business.

Hockey Night in Canada has been a national institution since it premiered on CBC radio in 1931. Foster Hewitt's familiar Hello, Canada! ushered hockey fan into the era of television in 1952. This book captures the great rivalries, the stars, and classic commentary moments from the days of radio.